Book Review

The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean Greer-Audio book

This book is quite possibly the most beautifully written book on the human condition that I have ever read. Greer’s writing is remarkably observant, stark, and spot on when it comes to the emotions people experience throughout their lives. From the joy of a first lovers tryst to the unexpected death of a best friend, the writing puts you in the crashing feelings of the moment with such realism; it is difficult to remember this is a fictional novel.

The story is this: a young child (Max Tivoli) ages the opposite of his emotional and spiritual growth. That is; he is a boy when his body is that of a man and when he is 50 he is in the body of a 12 year old boy. This character development serves to highlight how much old age and infancy are similar. It also serves as a backdrop to the 3 times Max shares with his true love Alice. Once he is with her as a father-figure, once as a lover and husband, and finally as a son to her. He faces the frightening aspects of life; being alone, becoming an infant, and love itself with beautiful inevitability which makes the life so precious.

There is a heartbreaking epiphany for our main character very late in the book. He discovers that he was the “great love” of his best friend and only confidant’s life. He, Max Tivoli, while loving Alice since meeting her, has been loved by Hughie Dempsey, who in turn was Alice’s “great love”. All of these loves are strangely unfulfilled. For Max it is enough to be the one in love, which strikes me as alternately selfish and naïve. Yet, it is also moving and compelling, as love almost always is. This is a wonderfully written book, I highly recommend it.