HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean…
Loading...

The Confessions of Max Tivoli (original 2004; edition 2005)

by Andrew Sean Greer

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
1,6315610,745 (3.65)88
Born as an old man, Max Tivoli lives his life aging backwards, falling in love and living an odd, sometimes terrifying life in San Francisco at the turn of the nineteenth century.
Member:lynnvogel
Title:The Confessions of Max Tivoli
Authors:Andrew Sean Greer
Info:Faber and Faber (2005), Paperback, 288 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:
Tags:None

Work Information

The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean Greer (2004)

  1. 30
    The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald (crazybatcow)
    crazybatcow: This short story about Benjamin Button has the same premise as Max Tivoli but the movie rendition of this title, with Brad Pitt, far far outweighs the short story on which it was based.
  2. 00
    The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (suzanney)
Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 88 mentions

English (55)  Italian (1)  All languages (56)
Showing 1-5 of 55 (next | show all)
This was much duller than I expected. It’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button as a novel spun out in endless dull details, mostly concerning the ever-present trope of the ONE woman, Alice. It wasn’t clever, subversive, or anything but a long slog of a dude who is creepily infatuated with a 14 year old girl, and can’t shut up about how he is ageing backwards. Just no. Pointless.

It did not encourage me to seek out more of Greer’s work. ( )
  73pctGeek | Mar 5, 2024 |
A good story, but there was so much introspection and poetic waxing by the main character that much of it was a slog. ( )
  grandpahobo | May 30, 2023 |
This is one of the more finely wrought things I've read in a while. The prose is beautiful (some might say purple, but it really worked for me), the story weird and funny (and sometimes a little creepy) and crushing. I read it quickly but it deserves to be read slowly. ( )
  dllh | Jan 6, 2021 |
One of the best novels I have read in a long time. Tightly constructed, beautifully written, with rich vocabulary and characters who are humanly flawed and tragically sympathetic. I took notes as I read to remind myself of the new words I encountered and the exquisite craft technique that the author showed. ( )
  AnaraGuard | Nov 1, 2020 |
Max Tivoli is an odd person. He is born an old man and is growing old even though his body becomes younger. His parents at first keep him mostly hidden, cared for by a Maid and his grandmother. Slowly, he is allowed to interact with others and find companions, such as Hughie, who simply accepts him for who or what he is.

The book is very thoughtful. It explores interactions among people and the psychology not only of being different but of the process of aging and the disparity between people of different ages. The writing is beautiful--so evocative of a time in the past and a pervasive love. Amazingly--in the middle of the book--I realized that the name of the “monster” and the woman he loved were Max and Alice--the exact names of my parents!

I think this is a gorgeous love story. There is something about a forbidden love or a transient love that almost has more power than a love which is consummated and then allowed to fade over time. I found this book very passionate--both in emotion and in thoughts. It made me think about the transient nature of relationships--among acquaintances, friends, family, and the great loves of a person’s life. This book examines these from all angles so poignantly and in such a beautiful manner.

I really, really loved this book. I thought the writing was beautiful in how well it expressed the agonies, not only of unrequited love, but also what it's like being "different" in today's society. Although the premise of the story (a person being born old and growing younger) might not be real, being considered a "monster" in today's society (for various reasons in which one person might be different from another) is certainly true enough. The thoughts about which Max wrote show a real understanding of the pain of such marginalization.

Another reason I was impressed with this story was its mind-bending aspect! I had enough of a problem trying to figure out how a person who is growing younger while others are growing older would relate psychologically, physically, and chronologically to others...but the author made it all seem so easy! He did it with such eloquence.

I really got into the character of Max, felt for him, and much appreciated the character of Hughie, a true friend.

There were some chords that struck unusually close to home. Max and Alice (the two most important characters in this novel) were also the names of my parents! I believe that the author grew up in Rockville, Maryland (my home town). ( )
1 vote SqueakyChu | Jan 12, 2020 |
Showing 1-5 of 55 (next | show all)
Max may be a monster, but he is a profoundly human one, a creature whose unusual disorder, far from making him a freak to be wondered at, simply magnifies his normal and recognizable emotions, sharpening their poignancy. The course of true love, after all, doesn't run smooth -- even for those of us whose biological clocks move forward. So Max turns out to be not so strange a beast after all. He's doomed to improvise his way through life, just like the rest of us, dodging heartbreak and disappointment at every step, forever baffled by the absurd, hopeless ordeal of loving another human being.
added by SimoneA | editNew York Times, Gary Krist (Feb 8, 2004)
 

» Add other authors (1 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Andrew Sean Greerprimary authorall editionscalculated
Blommesteijn, AnkieTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Dal Pra, ElenaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Devaux, LaetitiaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Gorzo, IuliaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Southwood, BiancaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Strätling, UdaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

Belongs to Publisher Series

You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Love..., ever unsatisfied, lives always in the moment that is about to come.--Marcel Proust
Dedication
For Bill Clegg
First words
We are each the love of someone's life.
Quotations
We are each the love of someone’s life.
And though I knew the smile faintly forming on her face as she left was not for me, and the sleepless night she would spend was not over my bearded face, still I was there in it somewhere. I was a houseboy of her heart. When we are very young, we try to live on what can never be enough. [78-79]
The past had its back already turned; there was no speaking with it. [82]
We were wed in May 1908 and I knew every inch of ecstasy. [167]
But people do not keep their secrets because they are so clever or discreet; love is never discreet. They keep them because we don't care enough to notice. [196]
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Information from the French Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (1)

Born as an old man, Max Tivoli lives his life aging backwards, falling in love and living an odd, sometimes terrifying life in San Francisco at the turn of the nineteenth century.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (3.65)
0.5 1
1 21
1.5 1
2 29
2.5 6
3 117
3.5 42
4 152
4.5 11
5 102

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

Recorded Books

An edition of this book was published by Recorded Books.

» Publisher information page

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 203,186,224 books! | Top bar: Always visible