The Confessions of Max Tivoli

We picked this book in our Reading Group as our book choice for January and I finished it in 1.5 days flat! It's an easy read with some fantastic turn of phrases peppered throughout the narrative. But before I talk about the style, let me give you a brief plot summary. It's the story of Max Tivoli who suffers from a rare (and I guess fictitious) disease that makes him age young! So, Max is born as an old man and dies as a toddler. Why toddler and why not new born, you may wonder. But to answer would be giving away too much.

The story is narrated in first person and that gives you an idea of what a character Max is. He is engaging, lively and often self-deprecatingly funny. You feel sorry for him but at the same time can't help but laugh at his predicaments. Especially when the woman he fell in love with as a young man (when his appearance is that of an old fellow) treats him as her son years later (when he has grown young to be a toddler and she is now a mature lady). In all, The Confessions of Max Tivoli is a compelling read by a master story teller.