(Guest Reviewer Michael McCormick)
Maxwell Sim may elicit sympathy, irritation or recognition; or maybe all three. As a person he is a “failure”. Currently out of work due to illness; virtually friendless, with a failed marriage and distant father. He is a man seeking human warmth and intimacy. The story opens with Maxwell in Australia visiting his father. Sitting in a restaurant he sees a mother and her daughter playing and laughing. He thinks that if only he could speak with them he might start to get the intimacy he craves.
The story shows the hopes and decline of a man who does not “fit”. At one point he achieves a certain connection by building up a relationship with his sat nav – a relationship doomed to failure.
Maxwell Sim’s journey is full of hope and despair, but ultimately self understanding. It is,as the cover hints, a story for our time. It will keep you interested until the final denouement. It is not however the “wildly funny” novel it is described as. The final plot shift is very original but I found it unnecessary. Having said that, this book is well worth reading.
(The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim was provided by Totnes Bookshop)
