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nicole_renee_carbondale1821's review
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
lgmaxwell722's review
2.0
Hm.. I am still not sure if Max' confessions show he is in love or just selfish. Born with a curse he can follow the love of his life while she ages, and he becomes younger. His whole life revolves around finding Alice, with potential consequences for those who befriend him.
lorbach's review
2.0
This book started out well, but whether it was the writing or me, I lost interest quickly in it.
It's very similiar to Benjamin Button.
It's very similiar to Benjamin Button.
ivostarr's review
4.0
I finished this novel a few days ago, but it has taken me a little time to wrap my head around the ending. The book contains one of those endings that you hope for in a novel--complex on so many different levels but delivered in the most natural and exquisite manner.
Max Tivoli is many things--freak, hero, enemy, lover, evil-doer, friend, father, husband, monster, etc. And, while he is all these things, Greer never forgets Tivoli's humanity, which allows him to delicately manipulate and then balance his readers' feelings for his main character as he carefully lays out his story.
I looked up the reviews for this book after friends gave it to me as a gift. I noticed that many reviewers compare Greer's prose to Proust and Nabokov--not too shabby! While I have picked up and started Proust a few times, we have not spent much time together. I'm still waiting for the right time for us, but from the little that I have read, I understand what these reviewers are saying. There are sentences in this novel that will leave you slack-jawed at times. There were a few occasions where a particular sentence, while perhaps not the most critical to a character or plot development, was just so perfect in its description of a person or a thing that I had to just close the book and appreciate it for a bit. Here are a few of my personal favorites for you:
"Childhood is remembered in the marrow, not in the mind" (32).
"Perhaps all of us reach an age where we come to the end of our imagination" (131).
"He was not sad in marriage; he was stable. I have to assume this made him happy, in a way; marriage was a weight, a paperweight, keeping the heart from flying across the room at every breeze" (139).
"A peacock made its bored way across the sidewalk, dragging its gorgeous, filthy ballgown of a tail (146).
"I saw the words arranging themselves, but there are things that we can only say once" (251).
Anyway, I look forward to the author's new novel, which I believe comes out today. Look for him (and his book) in a bookstore near you.
Max Tivoli is many things--freak, hero, enemy, lover, evil-doer, friend, father, husband, monster, etc. And, while he is all these things, Greer never forgets Tivoli's humanity, which allows him to delicately manipulate and then balance his readers' feelings for his main character as he carefully lays out his story.
I looked up the reviews for this book after friends gave it to me as a gift. I noticed that many reviewers compare Greer's prose to Proust and Nabokov--not too shabby! While I have picked up and started Proust a few times, we have not spent much time together. I'm still waiting for the right time for us, but from the little that I have read, I understand what these reviewers are saying. There are sentences in this novel that will leave you slack-jawed at times. There were a few occasions where a particular sentence, while perhaps not the most critical to a character or plot development, was just so perfect in its description of a person or a thing that I had to just close the book and appreciate it for a bit. Here are a few of my personal favorites for you:
"Childhood is remembered in the marrow, not in the mind" (32).
"Perhaps all of us reach an age where we come to the end of our imagination" (131).
"He was not sad in marriage; he was stable. I have to assume this made him happy, in a way; marriage was a weight, a paperweight, keeping the heart from flying across the room at every breeze" (139).
"A peacock made its bored way across the sidewalk, dragging its gorgeous, filthy ballgown of a tail (146).
"I saw the words arranging themselves, but there are things that we can only say once" (251).
Anyway, I look forward to the author's new novel, which I believe comes out today. Look for him (and his book) in a bookstore near you.
helloamywood's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
tracyk22's review
4.0
"We are each the love of someone's life." It took me well over a hundred pages to fall in love with Max Tivoli, but I did. I fell in love with his sad, sentimental story. And Alice didn't deserve him. But I'm glad he got to know his son. The setting of time and place were perfect for this story. Amazing writing. There are some real gems in this novel. I liked this one:
"What do our lovers see when they close their eyes? What comes to them in daydreams? Only those who love artists will ever know, though it breaks our hearts to find it's never us."
"What do our lovers see when they close their eyes? What comes to them in daydreams? Only those who love artists will ever know, though it breaks our hearts to find it's never us."
cojack's review
3.0
Probably more like 3.5 stars.
Intriguing concept: man physically ages backward, but mentally/intellectually ages normally. The writing was lovely and heartbreaking in parts, but overly self-conscious and florid in others. The book is presented as a journal written by Max Tivoli as he is nearing the end of his life, and given that he's born in the late 1800s, the flowery language would make sense, I guess. The book dragged in the middle, but picked up considerably in the final third. My biggest issue was that Max was a pretty selfish bastard. Yes, he was a freak, but he used it as an excuse to be terrible at times. That made some of the book hard to take, especially at the end. The author does an excellent job of showing how we can all be so wrapped up in our own drama that we don't notice the pain of the others around us until it is too late.
Intriguing concept: man physically ages backward, but mentally/intellectually ages normally. The writing was lovely and heartbreaking in parts, but overly self-conscious and florid in others. The book is presented as a journal written by Max Tivoli as he is nearing the end of his life, and given that he's born in the late 1800s, the flowery language would make sense, I guess. The book dragged in the middle, but picked up considerably in the final third. My biggest issue was that Max was a pretty selfish bastard. Yes, he was a freak, but he used it as an excuse to be terrible at times. That made some of the book hard to take, especially at the end. The author does an excellent job of showing how we can all be so wrapped up in our own drama that we don't notice the pain of the others around us until it is too late.
anca_m's review against another edition
5.0
Pentru ca toata lumea se leaga de The Curious Case of Benjamin Button cand scrie despre cartea asta, refuz sa fac comparatie intre cele doua. La Fitzgerald era mai mult o idee interesanta prezentata rapid, iar personajul nu e nu-stiu-cat de afectat, e oarecare, la Greer e un blestem care e prilejul de transmitere a altor idei. Pana la urma, ce vrea Greer sa spuna, mai departe de "Fiecare dintre noi e dragostea vietii cuiva" (prima propozitie care oricat de siropos ar suna, pana la urma duce la un triunghi interesant, asemanator cu cel din Pamantul de sub talpile ei - brutala comparatie, dar ma rog..) e cat de multe feste ii joaca timpul omului - chiar daca i se scurge in directia care trebuie - prin aceea ca niciodata nu e timpul potrivit si cand e, nu dureaza mult. Tragico-melodramatica | concluzie, ati zice.
Timpul potrivit pentru Max Tivoli e, ca si pentru B.B., la mijlocul vietii cand isi traieste si fizic varsta reala. In adolescenta, cu o infatisare de batran se indragosteste de o fata de 14 ani, chiriasa sa care, evident, il priveste cel mult ca pe un protector. Primii ani ai vietii sint pentru Max Tivoli cei mai importanti cand isi stabileste obsesiile pe care le urmeaza toata viata - isi gaseste si primul prieten care ii cunoaste secretul, isi invata rolul, si-o gaseste pe Alice, The One.
Regula lui Tivoli, stabilita de mama sa in copilarie, "Fii cine cred ei ca esti", e intr-un fel semnificativa doar in cazul Alice, mama ei si in general, apropiatii. Ceilalti oameni sint doar fundalul, ceva vag si sters, Max nu sufera pentru ca nu se poate adapta acolo, ci mai curand ca nu poate fi acceptat unde vrea el - in cercul lui intim si ca nu poate sa-si poarte varsta in afara, sa-si strige tineretea ca sora sa. Nepasarea lui pentru orice altceva in afara de drama lui de la inceputul vietii (justificata prin adolescenta) devine egoism si provoaca enervare (cititorului din mine, cui altcuiva?) cand devine imun la faptul ca toti ceilalti au probleme chiar daca pot fi priviti ca ceea ce sint ei. Ramane rece fata de suferintele prietenului ce imbatraneste si ofileste si fata de monstruozitatea sa, neobservata pana mai tarziu, coplesit de regrete.
Apare (da, din nou) femeia simbol al vietii, unic sens, perfectiune, dragostea vietii. Iar Tivoli isi traieste iubirea in 3 faze: Prima apare ca pedofilie, a doua e casnicie, dar apreciaza gresit caracterul mult iubitei si moare lent, la propriu, iar a treia, sub forma de copil in fata unei mame adoptive, cand ni se sugereaza nevoia de protectie intr-o relatie, din ambele parti.
Mi-a placut stilul lui Greer, nu e rau, are si caderi in patetism, dar nu discordante. Ce-ar putea sa enerveze sunt panseurile prea dese despre singuratate, diformitate, neacceptare, dragoste. Dar macar originale si cu suflul personajului (clar!). Stiu ca pare deja cliseu in gura mea, dar pentru mine atmosfera si constructia de scena ramane cel mai mult timp in memorie, nu personaje, nu vorbe, nici macar idei (ceea ce e rau, probabil). Iar Greer si-a creat bine peisajul de ansamblu si vocea cu care sa spuna ce are de zis. Si calatoria prin America impreuna cu prietenul lui la batranete mi s-a parut de 1000 de ori mai buna decat a lui Kerouac (hai, omorati-ma) pentru ca peisajele nu-mi erau bagate pe gat ca sa simt cat de liberi erau, pentru ca mi se spune clar ca si personajele se plictiseau dupa atata mers, nu doar noi, muritorii. Si si serile pe veranda mi-au placut, desi Alice adolescenta ma agasa. Si schimbarile bruste din viata lor si atmosfera din casa lor de casatoriti cu faianta din farfurii sparte. Si zapada din San Francisco in care se pierd urme, si Woodward's Gardens, chiar si la sfarsitul sfarsitului zilelor de glorie. Ah, si placut scena de conversatie dintre prieteni la batranete:
Concluzie: placut, nu dat pe spate, dar facut sa ma simt confortabil cand ma apucam de ea dupa o pauza. Si asta ii trebuia cuiva care nu mai citise de mult si care nu mai are perspective de citit in viitorul apropiat.:)
obs:1. pentru ca probabil n-am reusit sa zic cum trebuie de ce cine nu-i excesiv de cinic poate sa se apropie linistit de ea, aici e ceva mai bine conturat.
2. coperta romaneasca e groaznica, nu vad ce treaba are cu totul, in afara de faptul ca personajul isi scrie memoriile (cartea, practic) cu un pix. partea proasta e ca indeparteaza lumea cu rozul ala. mda.
Timpul potrivit pentru Max Tivoli e, ca si pentru B.B., la mijlocul vietii cand isi traieste si fizic varsta reala. In adolescenta, cu o infatisare de batran se indragosteste de o fata de 14 ani, chiriasa sa care, evident, il priveste cel mult ca pe un protector. Primii ani ai vietii sint pentru Max Tivoli cei mai importanti cand isi stabileste obsesiile pe care le urmeaza toata viata - isi gaseste si primul prieten care ii cunoaste secretul, isi invata rolul, si-o gaseste pe Alice, The One.
Regula lui Tivoli, stabilita de mama sa in copilarie, "Fii cine cred ei ca esti", e intr-un fel semnificativa doar in cazul Alice, mama ei si in general, apropiatii. Ceilalti oameni sint doar fundalul, ceva vag si sters, Max nu sufera pentru ca nu se poate adapta acolo, ci mai curand ca nu poate fi acceptat unde vrea el - in cercul lui intim si ca nu poate sa-si poarte varsta in afara, sa-si strige tineretea ca sora sa. Nepasarea lui pentru orice altceva in afara de drama lui de la inceputul vietii (justificata prin adolescenta) devine egoism si provoaca enervare (cititorului din mine, cui altcuiva?) cand devine imun la faptul ca toti ceilalti au probleme chiar daca pot fi priviti ca ceea ce sint ei. Ramane rece fata de suferintele prietenului ce imbatraneste si ofileste si fata de monstruozitatea sa, neobservata pana mai tarziu, coplesit de regrete.
Apare (da, din nou) femeia simbol al vietii, unic sens, perfectiune, dragostea vietii. Iar Tivoli isi traieste iubirea in 3 faze: Prima apare ca pedofilie, a doua e casnicie, dar apreciaza gresit caracterul mult iubitei si moare lent, la propriu, iar a treia, sub forma de copil in fata unei mame adoptive, cand ni se sugereaza nevoia de protectie intr-o relatie, din ambele parti.
Mi-a placut stilul lui Greer, nu e rau, are si caderi in patetism, dar nu discordante. Ce-ar putea sa enerveze sunt panseurile prea dese despre singuratate, diformitate, neacceptare, dragoste. Dar macar originale si cu suflul personajului (clar!). Stiu ca pare deja cliseu in gura mea, dar pentru mine atmosfera si constructia de scena ramane cel mai mult timp in memorie, nu personaje, nu vorbe, nici macar idei (ceea ce e rau, probabil). Iar Greer si-a creat bine peisajul de ansamblu si vocea cu care sa spuna ce are de zis. Si calatoria prin America impreuna cu prietenul lui la batranete mi s-a parut de 1000 de ori mai buna decat a lui Kerouac (hai, omorati-ma) pentru ca peisajele nu-mi erau bagate pe gat ca sa simt cat de liberi erau, pentru ca mi se spune clar ca si personajele se plictiseau dupa atata mers, nu doar noi, muritorii. Si si serile pe veranda mi-au placut, desi Alice adolescenta ma agasa. Si schimbarile bruste din viata lor si atmosfera din casa lor de casatoriti cu faianta din farfurii sparte. Si zapada din San Francisco in care se pierd urme, si Woodward's Gardens, chiar si la sfarsitul sfarsitului zilelor de glorie. Ah, si placut scena de conversatie dintre prieteni la batranete:
Dupa multi ani, cand am imbatranit amandoi si am inceput sa uitam, i-am adus aminte lui Hughie de dupa-amiaza aceea la Woodward's Gardens, cand ne-am vazut pentru prima oara sub balonul miraculos al profesorului Martin. [..:]
-Balon? intrebase el. Nu prea cred.
-Ba da, era un balon argintiu urias si tu m-ai intrebat ce-o mai fi ala.
[...:]
-Uiti tot felul de lucruri, Hughie. Esti batran.
-Si tu la fel, remarcase el.
[..:]
-Era un balon, asa ne-am imprietenit.
-Nu-i adevarat, eu ti-am aratat un numar de magie pe scara.
-Nu-mi aduc aminte ca tu sa fi stiut smecherii cu carti de joc.
Isi scosese ochelarii.
-Am intrat in casa cu tata. Tu incercai sa te ascunzi dupa usa ca un copilas, desi aratai ca senatorul Roosevelt in costum de marinar. Erai foarte caraghios. Am scos dama de pica dintre frunzele ferigii si de atunci ai inceput sa ma admiri.
-Ma rog.
-Ma rog.
Amandoi priviseram spre parcare, plictisiti si fara astampar in calatoriile noastre, sperand sa aflam acolo ceva familiar. Ne-am intors la ziar si respectiv, la chioraitul matelor si n-am mai vorbit un ceas. Asta inseamna sa ai un prieten vechi.
Concluzie: placut, nu dat pe spate, dar facut sa ma simt confortabil cand ma apucam de ea dupa o pauza. Si asta ii trebuia cuiva care nu mai citise de mult si care nu mai are perspective de citit in viitorul apropiat.:)
obs:1. pentru ca probabil n-am reusit sa zic cum trebuie de ce cine nu-i excesiv de cinic poate sa se apropie linistit de ea, aici e ceva mai bine conturat.
2. coperta romaneasca e groaznica, nu vad ce treaba are cu totul, in afara de faptul ca personajul isi scrie memoriile (cartea, practic) cu un pix. partea proasta e ca indeparteaza lumea cu rozul ala. mda.
spauffwrites's review
3.0
Be warned: Max is not one of your warm and fuzzy "likable" characters. His life is depressing. He ages backwards, born as a 70-year-old man, doomed to die as a baby. His father leaves him and his mother at a young age. The girl he loves rarely notices him. In response, Max is childish, thinks mostly of himself and his own desires and doesn't realize how selfish he's been until the very end of the novel. But the writing was beautiful, from the very first line: "We are each the love of someone's life." The story is strongest during Max's "childhood" and "adolescence" when he first meets Hughie, his best friend, and his future wife, Alice. After Alice leaves him, the story kind of falls apart, along with Max's life. It picks back up again after Max is reunited with Alice -- he's a child and she's an old woman -- and the story's complicated message about love becomes clearer: We are each the love of someone's life, but that love is not always reciprocated. Like I said, depressing.