We’re sure panic is imminent since we’re three days late with Jen Mann’s book review. Blame the weather, the holidays, but whatever you do, do not blame Jen – she’s a constant in a sea of change and is never late. Her book choice this week is “The Confessions of Max Tivoli” by Andrew Sean Greer.
I try to write on these pages about books that have meant something to me and hopefully will to others. The majority of these books I enjoyed reading, but there are some, such as, “The Confessions of Max Tivoli,” that had beautiful moments amongst bearable sadness.
Like its predecessor, the F. Scott Fitzgerald story, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” this book is about a man who is two contradicting ages.
Internally he a small boy, who lives his life and is growing older. Externally he is born an old man and looks younger the older he grows.
How sad. No one really knows him and he can not be what he is. In fact, his mother and father tell him to be what he seems … “Be what they think you are.” This is the rule he tries to live by; to be what people want him to be. To not be his true self. He is alone in a sea of humanity. His own humanity is too different to be included in theirs.
As an old shriveled man of a newborn, he stays hidden from the world. He can not be a carefree child when he appears to be an old man. He is not an old soul, merely a self-proclaimed monster.
As a teenager, in the body of a 50-year-old man, he falls in love with Alice. He can not have her.
As a 35-year-old man in a 35-year-old’s body, he can have her.
As a 60-year-old man in a young boy’s body, he must have her in a different way.
His life and travels all revolve around his love for Alice. The only friend he has ever had, Hughie stands by him through it all and we never see the true beauty of Hughie and his compassion until it may be too late for both men. Max will die an old old man in the body of an infant. Hughie will sacrifice too much.
What makes this a book worth reading, despite the sadness, is the beauty hidden among the agonies
Despite his pain, he gets up every day and lives. He tries to fit in and has a few brief moments of real joy. His descriptions of the changing world around him are prepossessing. He sees the world as if through a screen and we are alone with him as the world goes by. We reach with him for the powers in the mundane. As with the last few books I have read, there is a message to us. Do not fail to appreciate what the world has to offer. For many it is unattainable except in glimpses.
Max says,” Life is short, and full of sorrows, and I loved it.”