Struggling to get through "Max Tivoli"
I am currently reading The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean Greer for my book club, and it is taking me forever! I can usually fly through a 200-300 page book in a few hours if I have a quiet day. But at most it takes me a couple of days to read a book. I am currently on day-5 of my attempts to read this book and only on page 167 (I have another 100 pages to go).
The story is about a man who ages in reverse. He is born with the appearance of an old man, and by the time he dies he will appear as a newborn baby, hence being able to guess with great accuracy the year of his death. It is the story of his struggle to act as if he is actually the age he appears, even though he is the opposite inside. And it is also the depserate stuggle to live out the middle of his life to the fullest, where he looks and is the same both inside and outside.
The problem is that I really don't care about anyone in this book. The author has made most of them completely annoying. I don't even passionately hate or disagree with them, and that would at least be something. I find the romance particularly unromantic, and the book moves at such a slow pace that it is difficult to muster up much of a desire to pick it up again after I have taken a break from it (which is quite frequently).
Greer's writing style is very descriptive, so if you like that kind of writing, then you would love this book. You can really get a feel of the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of late 19th century-early 20th century San Francisco, where this book is mostly set. But some of his descriptions leave me totally confused, as he usues analogies and metaphors that don't seem to make any sense or that seem like a real stretch. Sometimes it appears he writes for the sake of sounding like a great writer instead of using words that truly encompass the mood or meaning of the moment. For example, when decribing the energy of a supposedly romantic scene, he decribes it like the pulse of venom pouring out of a snake. And I tried, really hard to determine why he chose those words to describe what should have been a passionate, romantic moment, but either I am oblivious to his intentions or his choice of words leaves something to be desired.
So, since book club meets tomorrow, I will keep plugging along through this book. But if this wasn't a book club choice, I would've put it down and inevitably returned it unfinished to the library 3 days ago.
The story is about a man who ages in reverse. He is born with the appearance of an old man, and by the time he dies he will appear as a newborn baby, hence being able to guess with great accuracy the year of his death. It is the story of his struggle to act as if he is actually the age he appears, even though he is the opposite inside. And it is also the depserate stuggle to live out the middle of his life to the fullest, where he looks and is the same both inside and outside.
The problem is that I really don't care about anyone in this book. The author has made most of them completely annoying. I don't even passionately hate or disagree with them, and that would at least be something. I find the romance particularly unromantic, and the book moves at such a slow pace that it is difficult to muster up much of a desire to pick it up again after I have taken a break from it (which is quite frequently).
Greer's writing style is very descriptive, so if you like that kind of writing, then you would love this book. You can really get a feel of the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of late 19th century-early 20th century San Francisco, where this book is mostly set. But some of his descriptions leave me totally confused, as he usues analogies and metaphors that don't seem to make any sense or that seem like a real stretch. Sometimes it appears he writes for the sake of sounding like a great writer instead of using words that truly encompass the mood or meaning of the moment. For example, when decribing the energy of a supposedly romantic scene, he decribes it like the pulse of venom pouring out of a snake. And I tried, really hard to determine why he chose those words to describe what should have been a passionate, romantic moment, but either I am oblivious to his intentions or his choice of words leaves something to be desired.
So, since book club meets tomorrow, I will keep plugging along through this book. But if this wasn't a book club choice, I would've put it down and inevitably returned it unfinished to the library 3 days ago.
posted by Philothea Rose at
9:02 AM
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