The Confessions of Max Tivoli (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991-2005)
At a glance:
- Author: Andrew Sean Greer
- First Published: 2004
- Type of Work: Novel
- Time of Work: 1870-1930
- Setting: San Francisco, with a trip across the United States at the end
- Principal Characters: Max Tivoli, Alice Ramsey, Hughie Dempsey, Sammy, Madame Dupont, Victor Ramsey
- Genres: Long fiction, Bildungsroman
- Subjects: Love or romance, Twentieth century, Nineteenth century, 1910’s, 1920’s, 1930’s, Youth, Sick persons, Aging, 1900’s
- Locales: San Francisco, CA
Andrew Sean Greer takes the epigraph for his ingenious narrative from the writings of Marcel Proust, who speaks about yearning for a perfect love even in the face of past loves that have been disappointing. The choice of Proust alerts readers to Greer's concerns with the issues of time, memory, and transgressive sexuality in his intricately structured novel The Confessions of Max Tivoli.
The work takes the form of a memoir, set down over four months in 1930 by a man who will shortly take his own life. It is written on pilfered notebooks with a stolen pen. The narrator's...
[The entire page is 1769 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
