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Uncle Max
When his mother discovers his secret stash of alcohol and pictures of scantily clad male models, fourteen-year-old Dillon is forced to attend Bible Camp, but before he can get his dose of summer salvation, he encounters "Uncle Max," a flamboyant francophile on the run and in need of a place to hide, and Dillon, only to happy to escape, embarks on a rollicking journey with Max and fellow con-artist Jane Nguyen that changes his life forever. 25,000 first printint.
293 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 7, 2018
The incest was a surprise...
((Full review below))
I thought this was going to be a quirky coming of age story about a teen and his fabulously gay uncle (as described on the cover) but instead I got a pedantic, reeking mess of unfilled plotholes, loose ends and an unsatiated story.
The abusive family history I could get behind. The thieving I...had a harder time but I could get behind.
The incest however...
No.
Also Im left feeling like there should have been at least 3 more chapters to explain what happened to Serge and the Doris expedition and Max...I feel like it was terribly rushed and no care was taken into the last quarter of the book.
((Full review below))
I thought this was going to be a quirky coming of age story about a teen and his fabulously gay uncle (as described on the cover) but instead I got a pedantic, reeking mess of unfilled plotholes, loose ends and an unsatiated story.
The abusive family history I could get behind. The thieving I...had a harder time but I could get behind.
The incest however...
No.
Also Im left feeling like there should have been at least 3 more chapters to explain what happened to Serge and the Doris expedition and Max...I feel like it was terribly rushed and no care was taken into the last quarter of the book.
July 3, 2017
Ignore the cover as it has nothing to do with the book, and if you can get past the cover, read the book.
A very delightful book, one of those you read because it was there, but soon after you start you are hooked by the characters and the plot. Don’t judge this book by its cover, as the cover art is irrelevant.
At its heart it’s a coming of age story, a fast paced one with several unique twists. A kid who is in big trouble because he is spiraling out of control. His mom has his uncle, a person on parole for a drug related crime “baby sit” him for the summer. Hilarity ensues. The uncle is morally corrupt, probably a sociopath or maybe even a psychopath and trains our protagonist (his nephew) in how to steal things, eventually becoming art thieves.
Triggers: child abuse, beating one’s children. It happens to the mother and uncle by their parents, and the mother later –in this book –she beats her son “on screen”. Manipulative behavior that borders on sociopathic or psychopathic tendencies. Keep in mind it’s a fiction book. ----- If the triggers don’t bother you, the book is well worth reading.
As witty and warm as it is laugh-out-loud funny, "Uncle Max" follows the adventures of a gawky adolescent on the cusp of homosexuality who discovers an unlikely hero in his outrageous, irreverent Uncle Max. Together, this daring duo embarks on a glorious madcap adventure that will change young Dillon's life forever. Fourteen-year-old Dillon is a self-described nerdy band fag in desperate need of a summer reprieve from gym class and torment by the school jock. Alas, that isn't to be -- not after his born-again mother, Lana, stumbles across his stash of empty wine bottles and Sears catalog pages featuring scantily-clad male models. Alarmed at the diabolic evidence of Dillon's drunken, perverted nocturnal hobbies, Lana concludes that Bible Camp is his only hope. But before he can say "hallelujah, " Dillon's salvation materializes -- fabulously shirtless and smoking a French cigarette. Perpetually on the lam, Uncle Max needs a place to hang -- and hide out -- for awhile. Hot on his heels is an entourage that includes his parole officer, Meredith; his sexy mountaineer boyfriend, Serge; and fellow con artist/antiques dealer, Jane Nguyen. Sprung from the proverbial closet, Dillon finds himself under Uncle Max's supervision for the summer, which entails Hitchcock films, Balzac novels, and a crash course in crime as Max and Jane's sidekick. As July gives way to steamy August, and as the cops close in, one thing is certain -- for Dillon, nothing will ever be the same again.
A very delightful book, one of those you read because it was there, but soon after you start you are hooked by the characters and the plot. Don’t judge this book by its cover, as the cover art is irrelevant.
At its heart it’s a coming of age story, a fast paced one with several unique twists. A kid who is in big trouble because he is spiraling out of control. His mom has his uncle, a person on parole for a drug related crime “baby sit” him for the summer. Hilarity ensues. The uncle is morally corrupt, probably a sociopath or maybe even a psychopath and trains our protagonist (his nephew) in how to steal things, eventually becoming art thieves.
Triggers: child abuse, beating one’s children. It happens to the mother and uncle by their parents, and the mother later –in this book –she beats her son “on screen”. Manipulative behavior that borders on sociopathic or psychopathic tendencies. Keep in mind it’s a fiction book. ----- If the triggers don’t bother you, the book is well worth reading.
As witty and warm as it is laugh-out-loud funny, "Uncle Max" follows the adventures of a gawky adolescent on the cusp of homosexuality who discovers an unlikely hero in his outrageous, irreverent Uncle Max. Together, this daring duo embarks on a glorious madcap adventure that will change young Dillon's life forever. Fourteen-year-old Dillon is a self-described nerdy band fag in desperate need of a summer reprieve from gym class and torment by the school jock. Alas, that isn't to be -- not after his born-again mother, Lana, stumbles across his stash of empty wine bottles and Sears catalog pages featuring scantily-clad male models. Alarmed at the diabolic evidence of Dillon's drunken, perverted nocturnal hobbies, Lana concludes that Bible Camp is his only hope. But before he can say "hallelujah, " Dillon's salvation materializes -- fabulously shirtless and smoking a French cigarette. Perpetually on the lam, Uncle Max needs a place to hang -- and hide out -- for awhile. Hot on his heels is an entourage that includes his parole officer, Meredith; his sexy mountaineer boyfriend, Serge; and fellow con artist/antiques dealer, Jane Nguyen. Sprung from the proverbial closet, Dillon finds himself under Uncle Max's supervision for the summer, which entails Hitchcock films, Balzac novels, and a crash course in crime as Max and Jane's sidekick. As July gives way to steamy August, and as the cops close in, one thing is certain -- for Dillon, nothing will ever be the same again.
October 30, 2022
They were people and they did as people do, be stupid.
April 11, 2020
I think I too would pray to the Gods for deliverance or death IF I were:
•14 years old and have already experienced being abandoned by a father and a stepfather;
•living in a half-finished home in the middle of an abandoned property development site with a boozy volatile physically violent mother who blames all her life woes on me as the root cause;
•find myself being bullied at school for not fitting in and having standout coloured headgear and braces;
•unsuccessfully fighting off a burgeoning sexual attraction towards the male body and all it’s alluring parts;
•being sent off to summer Bible camp and then military school for having discovered the joys of alcohol early in life.
And for our young protagonist Dillon – deliverance arrives in the form of an enigmatic, carefree, confident, darkly attractive male figure – his Uncle Max of whom he knows very little except the snippets from his cold and hateful grandparents that Max is a ‘child of the Devil’. And Maxy delivers … he manages to miraculously save Dillon from the immediate Bible camp fate.
What follows is a madcap series of petty criminal adventures that eventually morph into serious criminal adventures a dorky boy would dream of being pulled into by a Pied Piper who promises the world can be one’s oyster if only Dillon can develop the confidence/balls to pull the heists off. This funny, snarky, fast-paced novel reads like a gay Aunty Mame meets Oliver Twist meets Luck In The Shadows.
Along the way, Dillon discovers self acceptance and respect, the balls to trust his own instincts, gay super-heroes can have massive feet of clay, life can be a bitch but you can live through it for another day without having to stomp all over others to get there. Like his other book Can’t Buy Me Love, Kenry’s finales can be a little quick to sew up several threads (with one left dangling IMO) – but still an enjoyable read overall.
•14 years old and have already experienced being abandoned by a father and a stepfather;
•living in a half-finished home in the middle of an abandoned property development site with a boozy volatile physically violent mother who blames all her life woes on me as the root cause;
•find myself being bullied at school for not fitting in and having standout coloured headgear and braces;
•unsuccessfully fighting off a burgeoning sexual attraction towards the male body and all it’s alluring parts;
•being sent off to summer Bible camp and then military school for having discovered the joys of alcohol early in life.
And for our young protagonist Dillon – deliverance arrives in the form of an enigmatic, carefree, confident, darkly attractive male figure – his Uncle Max of whom he knows very little except the snippets from his cold and hateful grandparents that Max is a ‘child of the Devil’. And Maxy delivers … he manages to miraculously save Dillon from the immediate Bible camp fate.
What follows is a madcap series of petty criminal adventures that eventually morph into serious criminal adventures a dorky boy would dream of being pulled into by a Pied Piper who promises the world can be one’s oyster if only Dillon can develop the confidence/balls to pull the heists off. This funny, snarky, fast-paced novel reads like a gay Aunty Mame meets Oliver Twist meets Luck In The Shadows.
Along the way, Dillon discovers self acceptance and respect, the balls to trust his own instincts, gay super-heroes can have massive feet of clay, life can be a bitch but you can live through it for another day without having to stomp all over others to get there. Like his other book Can’t Buy Me Love, Kenry’s finales can be a little quick to sew up several threads (with one left dangling IMO) – but still an enjoyable read overall.
May 3, 2008
Interesting book! We are used to stories where the gay teen coming of age does nothing more illicit than act on his feelings. This is NOT that story. Our hero Dillon is a gawky gay band geek who meets his on-the-lamb uncle who's a pied piper for the dark side.
Soon Dillon and his uncle are shoplifting, doing home robberies and reading Balzac! Not a great read but a quick and painless one and one that has several lighter moments that make the journey worthwhile.
This is another of those books that's best read while inhaling cocoa butter and absorbing UV rays.
Soon Dillon and his uncle are shoplifting, doing home robberies and reading Balzac! Not a great read but a quick and painless one and one that has several lighter moments that make the journey worthwhile.
This is another of those books that's best read while inhaling cocoa butter and absorbing UV rays.
August 21, 2020
As others have mentioned, the plot summary on the back cover does not fit the actual book, nor does the image on the front; but I could get past these points. However, the absurd story that I found in between those cover pages lacked direction and was altogether disappointing. I pushed on, but the clumsy plotline riddled with physical abuse, burlary & incest proved to be unenjoyable for me.
Not recommended.
Not recommended.
May 31, 2009
When I got this book I had NO CLUE what it was about. I just saw it on the shelf at the library and thought that the cover looked intriguing! I was pleasantly surprised with the wit and deeper meaning of life woven into it. It had a bit of spunk and kept me entertained! I am sure many of my ULTRA-CONSERVATIVE friends might get offended...BUT my OPEN MINDED friends would absolutely enjoy this!
June 15, 2007
Kenry's saddest book.
August 11, 2009
Amusing but a little too amoral for my taste.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews