The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim

by JonathanCoe (Author)

• Used

  Perfect Paperback
  2011

  $5.53

  Maxwell Sim seems to have hit rock bottom: separated from his wife and daughter, estranged from his father, and with no one to confide in even though he has 74 friends on Facebook. He's not even sure whether he's got a job until suddenly a strange business proposition comes his way which involves a long journey to the Shetland Isles - and a voyage into his family's past which throws up some surprising revelations. Jonathan Coe's new book is a story for our times: Maxwell finds himself at sea in the modern world, surrounded by social networks but unable to relate properly to anyone. Yet as he delves into his family history he manages to find the resources to survive.

• Used

  Paperback
  2011

  $3.77

  The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim is Jonathan Coe's latest heart-breaking and hilarious novel. Maxwell Sim could be any of us. He could be you. He's about to have a mid-life crisis (though eh doesn't know it yet). He'll be found in his car in the north of Scotland, half-naked and alone, suffering hypothermia, with a couple of empty whisky bottles and a boot full of toothbrushes. It's a far cry from a restaurant in Sydney, where his story starts. But then Maxwell Sim has, unknowingly, got a long way to go. If he knew now about his lonely journey to the Shetland Isles, or the truth about his father and the folded photograph, or the mystery of Poppy and her peculiar job, or even about Emma's lovely, fading voice, then perhaps he's stay where he was - hiding from destiny. But Max knows none of it. And nor do you - at least not yet...Equal parts funny and moving, The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim will be cherished by readers everywhere, from fans of David Nicholls to Will Self. Witty, unexpected and curiously unsettling. Coe carries it off with empathy, comedy and a ventriloquist's ear for idiom . ( Literary Review ). Clever, engaging, spring-loaded with mysteries and surprises . ( Time Out ). Masterly, highly engaging. Coe's eye for the details of contemporary life remains as sharp as ever . ( Daily Mail ). Jonathan Coe's novels are filled with biting social commentary, moving and astute observations of life and hilarious set pieces that have made him one of the most popular writers of his generation. His other titles, The Accidental Woman , The Rotters' Club (winner of the Everyman Wodehouse prize), The House of Sleep (winner of the 1998 Prix Medicis Etranger), A Touch of Love , What a Carve Up! (winner of the 1995 John Llewellyn Rhys Prize) and The Rain Before it Falls , are all available in Penguin paperback.