Steve Toltz’s new book A Rising of the Lights is a bit of a sleeper hit – the kind that sneaks up on you.
I first got hooked on Toltz through Here Goes Nothing, which I’ve passed around to more people than I can count. It’s one of those books that reliably lands.
I’ll admit I haven’t gone deep on his full back catalogue yet — but based on this, it’s firmly on the list.
At first glance, A Rising of the Lights (Penguin) feels like a downer.
But that’s kind of the point. It leans into discomfort in a way that feels oddly familiar – messy, human, and hard to shake.
Toltz has a way of stretching everyday situations just far enough into absurd territory that they tip over into something sharper.
That same tragi-comic tone is here again, but it’s a quieter version.
Less laugh-out-loud, more under-the-breath funny – the kind that hits because it feels close to home.
At the centre is Rusty Wilson, a guy unraveling in a world that’s not making much sense.
There’s AI creeping into everything – including his job, and even the idea of therapy – and Toltz doesn’t shy away from poking at that.
It never feels preachy, just curious (and occasionally cutting) about where humans sit in all of it.
But the book’s real weight comes from the personal stuff.
Family, in all its flawed forms. Parents who are just people. Siblings who carry their own mess. And that uncomfortable realisation that you’re not separate from any of it.
The beauty of family, your family, the family you create outside of the one you were born into.
It’s about trying to understand yourself while everything around you – work, relationships, even reality – feels like it’s shifting.
There’s something quietly heavy running through it, but also something warm.
A sense that, even when things fall apart, there’s still meaning in the connections you hold onto – or rebuild.
Not Toltz at his loudest, but maybe at his most human.
If you’re heading to Sydney Writers’ Festival this year, you can catch Steve Toltz across multiple sessions, unpacking A Rising of the Lights and diving into conversations around AI and the ideas behind it.
Check out SFF dates here and A Rising of the Lights here.
