Synopses & Reviews
Max Tivoli is uniquely cursed. Although his mind and soul may nature as any other person's does, his body ages in reverse; born with the body of a seventy-year-old man, he grows physically younger with each passing year. His singular predicament forces him into hiding, in one form or another, for much of his life, though he does manage to find his one true love--Alice. Max crosses paths with Alice three times throughout the course of their lives: Once when he is a young man, swept up in the passion of first love and infatuation, while he is trapped within the body of a decrepit old man. Next, the two meet at Max's "prime" age, that brief time in his life when his true age is matched by his physical image he presents to the world. Finally, they are together when Alice is a middle-aged woman, caring for her young son and his orphaned "friend"--who is in fact Max under the guise of a twelve-year-old boy, although in his heart he is still her love. It's a first person narrative evoking the very nature of the human experience: love, loss, family, loyalty, friendship, growth, self-discovery, and sacrifice. Set largely against the backdrop of San Francisco at the turn of the 20th century. "The Confessions of Max Tivoli finds its narrator present--though often on the sidelines--at some of the defining moments of the era, including the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 and World War I.
Synopsis
From critically acclaimed, award-winning author Andrew Sean Greer comes a story like no other. Max Tivoli is uniquely cursed. His mind ages normally, but he is born with the withered body of a 70-year-old man-and his body ages in reverse. Despite this torment, Max manages three times to cross paths with Alice, the woman who captures his heart. Because he appears to be a different person each time they meet, Max has three chances for true love.