About book Die Ungeheuerliche Einsamkeit Des Maxwell Sim (2010)
Jonathan Coe did it again. A pretty decent effort of a novel spoiled by an abrupt, clumsy (and metafictional!) ending. Pity, because 'The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim' has its good moments and includes some brilliant dialogues and ideas. There's just too much here: too many characters, too many subplots left open, too many letters/emails/essays/short stories to fill the gaps and keep the story going by tossing it here and there. Ah, and too much of a certain NavSat... 330 pages could have been either 200 and something (drying the story up) or 500 and something (by expanding it). But 330 pages left me bored while leafing through them and unsatisfied once done with the book and actually asking for more.Perhaps only two stars is too harsh a rating, but if I think to what Coe wrote in the past, this novel doesn't deserve three stars. Potential is a double-edged sword: ask Ian McEwan. One of the best books that I have read for quite a while. I found myself rooting for Maxwell from the very beginning because his story seems like a common one. For an introvert like Maxwell, the very technology that is meant to make us feel more connected to the world does actually render us more lonely. Maxwell tries to connect with others though Facebook (his 70 "friends") and builds a close relationship with his ex wife by posing as someone else through Mumsnet. We all become someone else online - sometimes someone we think we would like to be a lot more than we like ourselves but it only serves to distance us from ourselves and others. There is a lot more to this story of course a lot more. I love the way Coe gets away with weaving so many random events to create the narrative of Maxwell's life. This is a book to make you think about the "terrible privacy" of your own life. If only other people knew. This book highlights forms how important real communication and real intimacy with others is more important than ever for our happiness.
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Haiku Review: Loneliness exploredThrough lens of modernity. Value who you have!
—Jpez
Arguably Coes best book; amazing observational skills and beautifully crafted.
—Metalhealth
Sometimes a bit tedious to read but the end is great.
—crypanda300
intrigerend verhaal, maar literair weinig verheffend
—napa
