'Why should I let you write about me?' 'Because you'll inspire people. To count their blessings.' Aldo Benjamin, relentlessly unlucky in every aspect of life, has always faced the future with despair and optimism in equal measure. His latest misfortune, though, may finally have brought him undone. There's still hope, but not for Aldo. His mate Liam hasn't been doing much better - a failed writer with a rocky marriage and a dangerous job he never wanted - until he finds inspiration in Aldo's exponential disaster. What begins as an attempt to document these improbable but inevitable experiences becomes a profound exploration of fate, fear and friendship. Wildly entertaining and acutely insightful, Quicksand is a subversive portrait of 21st-century existence in all its hypocrisy and absurdity, an exquisite interpretation of suffering and resilience, and a compelling story about the taking of risks and the making of art. 'A wonderful achievement from a writer whose words serve as a scalpel to reveal the ...