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The Wonder Lover
Longlisted for The Indie Book Awards 2016
Longlisted for The Voss Literary Prize 2016
This is the story of John Wonder, a man with three families, each one kept secret from the other, each one containing two children, a boy and a girl. As he travels from family to family in different cities, he works as an Authenticator, verifying world records, confirming facts, setting things straight, while his own life is a teetering tower of breathtaking lies and betrayals.
'Some books read as if they are touched by magic, so wondrous and astonishing is the experience of immersing yourself in them. That's how I feel about The Wonder Lover . It is written with confidence and daring, with a joyous freedom and a love for story and language that is only possible when an artist has truly mastered their craft. It is a compulsive and thrilling read, a dazzling achievement. There is a word that should be used very rarely but I believe is absolutely right for this The Wonder Lover is superb.' -- Christos Tsiolkas, author of The Slap
Longlisted for The Voss Literary Prize 2016
This is the story of John Wonder, a man with three families, each one kept secret from the other, each one containing two children, a boy and a girl. As he travels from family to family in different cities, he works as an Authenticator, verifying world records, confirming facts, setting things straight, while his own life is a teetering tower of breathtaking lies and betrayals.
'Some books read as if they are touched by magic, so wondrous and astonishing is the experience of immersing yourself in them. That's how I feel about The Wonder Lover . It is written with confidence and daring, with a joyous freedom and a love for story and language that is only possible when an artist has truly mastered their craft. It is a compulsive and thrilling read, a dazzling achievement. There is a word that should be used very rarely but I believe is absolutely right for this The Wonder Lover is superb.' -- Christos Tsiolkas, author of The Slap
307 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2015
15 people are currently reading
309 people want to read
About the author
Malcolm Knox
36 books48 followersMalcolm Knox was born in 1966. He grew up in Sydney and studied in Sydney and Scotland, where his one-act play, POLEMARCHUS, was performed in St Andrews and Edinburgh. He has worked for the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD since 1994 and his journalism has been published in Australia, Britain, India and the West Indies.
His first novel Summerland was published to great acclaim in the UK, US, Australia and Europe in 2000. In 2001 Malcolm was named one of the Sydney Morning Herald's Best Young Australian novelists. He lives in Sydney with his wife Wenona, son Callum and daughter Lilian. His most recent novel, A Private Man, was critically acclaimed and was shortlisted for the Commomwealth Prize and the Tasmanian Premier’s Award.
His first novel Summerland was published to great acclaim in the UK, US, Australia and Europe in 2000. In 2001 Malcolm was named one of the Sydney Morning Herald's Best Young Australian novelists. He lives in Sydney with his wife Wenona, son Callum and daughter Lilian. His most recent novel, A Private Man, was critically acclaimed and was shortlisted for the Commomwealth Prize and the Tasmanian Premier’s Award.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
August 6, 2015
John Wonder had not one, not two, but three families separated by vast amounts of
land and ocean. He managed to juggle three completely different lives without each knowing of the others existence. Think of your busy life and multiply that by three. Three dentists, three doctors, three accountants, three solicitors, three mechanics and all had to be kept separate and compartmentalised, all memorised and kept track of. He led a happy contented life until he met “the most beautiful woman in the world” and his life slowly started falling apart.
For me The Wonder Lover was a story with a whole lot of unlikeable characters. John Wonder is as he is depicted, bland and invisible. I couldn’t even get a mental picture of him. I certainly didn’t like him. His three wives were so accepting and complacent, bordering on grateful, that they all annoyed me. The story is told by his six children as one omniscient voice. They spoke of their father with adoration always making excuses for his neglect and behaviour. This annoyed me too as he was never there, well very rarely. Parts of the novel were dark, humorous, interesting and deep while other parts were nonsensical and dragged, repeating over information again and again.
What did I like?
The writing was exquisite and extremely clever. I loved all the facts and trivia interspersed throughout the story.
I liked Cicada, the true manipulator. She had worked men out at an early age and now they simply bored her. They were her toys!
I liked the story of Dorothy O’Oagh, the longest living person, and Menis Economopoulos, the person to be under house arrest for the longest time, it was darkly humorous and gave me quite a few laughs.
The story wrapped up well and the ending was deeply satisfying. It quelled all the annoyances I had with the characters in the novel. I would say this is why my review jumped from 3 to 4 stars.
With thanks to Allen & Unwin for my uncorrected proof copy to read and review.
land and ocean. He managed to juggle three completely different lives without each knowing of the others existence. Think of your busy life and multiply that by three. Three dentists, three doctors, three accountants, three solicitors, three mechanics and all had to be kept separate and compartmentalised, all memorised and kept track of. He led a happy contented life until he met “the most beautiful woman in the world” and his life slowly started falling apart.
For me The Wonder Lover was a story with a whole lot of unlikeable characters. John Wonder is as he is depicted, bland and invisible. I couldn’t even get a mental picture of him. I certainly didn’t like him. His three wives were so accepting and complacent, bordering on grateful, that they all annoyed me. The story is told by his six children as one omniscient voice. They spoke of their father with adoration always making excuses for his neglect and behaviour. This annoyed me too as he was never there, well very rarely. Parts of the novel were dark, humorous, interesting and deep while other parts were nonsensical and dragged, repeating over information again and again.
What did I like?
The writing was exquisite and extremely clever. I loved all the facts and trivia interspersed throughout the story.
I liked Cicada, the true manipulator. She had worked men out at an early age and now they simply bored her. They were her toys!
I liked the story of Dorothy O’Oagh, the longest living person, and Menis Economopoulos, the person to be under house arrest for the longest time, it was darkly humorous and gave me quite a few laughs.
The story wrapped up well and the ending was deeply satisfying. It quelled all the annoyances I had with the characters in the novel. I would say this is why my review jumped from 3 to 4 stars.
With thanks to Allen & Unwin for my uncorrected proof copy to read and review.
May 30, 2015
John Wonder lives an unusual life. He has three families, each living in a different country, separated from each other by oceans. In each family, he has a wife and two children. Each pair of children is made up of a boy and a girl, with the son (Adam) older than the daughter (Evie). John spends one week in three with each family, living a carefully delineated life. This unusual life is possible because John Wonder is an unusual man. John works as an Authenticator, travelling the globe authenticating the type of feats that are recorded in the Guinness World Book of Records. Born without a scent, he makes himself innocuous, unnoticeable and unseen.
The Wonder Lover opens strongly, with the unusual (that word again!) literary device of being narrated collectively by all six children. In full disclosure, I borrowed this from the library thinking it was Marion Halligan's Goodbye Sweetheart, so I had a completely different idea of what the book was going to be about. That said, once I realised I what I had done, I went with it. The first half of the book is very well written and I was fascinated by the story of the determinately non-interesting man who had built up such an interesting life. But then, halfway through the novel, the author commits an unforgivable sin: John's world starts to fall apart because he meets Cucina, who is thirty years his junior and the world's most beautiful woman.
It's time for some ranting. The year is 2015. Lolita was published in 1955. Since then, there have been many books, so so so many books, where the plot resolves around an old man lusting after a younger woman. This plot line needs to stop. It needs to die. It has been done to death and it's disgusting, creepy, always sexist and often downright misogynist. Worse still, it's boring. I want books to entertain me, engage my mind, make me think, make me care about characters and events and be interesting. THERE SHOULD BE NO MORE BOOKS WHERE OLD MEN LUST AFTER YOUNG BEAUTIFUL WOMEN. The quota of books containing that storyline has been reached. There are enough tales telling that particular story. There is literally no way this story can be retold in a new and interesting way. Please, let no author ever write about it ever again. It's time has come.
I did finish the book because I wanted to see what happened. Unfortunately, the end of the book is quite stupid. The women characters who appeared so intriguing at the start of the story end up as caricatures and it was all strangely unsatisfactory. The Wonder Lovers gets two stars and a time-out in the naughty corner.
The Wonder Lover opens strongly, with the unusual (that word again!) literary device of being narrated collectively by all six children. In full disclosure, I borrowed this from the library thinking it was Marion Halligan's Goodbye Sweetheart, so I had a completely different idea of what the book was going to be about. That said, once I realised I what I had done, I went with it. The first half of the book is very well written and I was fascinated by the story of the determinately non-interesting man who had built up such an interesting life. But then, halfway through the novel, the author commits an unforgivable sin: John's world starts to fall apart because he meets Cucina, who is thirty years his junior and the world's most beautiful woman.
It's time for some ranting. The year is 2015. Lolita was published in 1955. Since then, there have been many books, so so so many books, where the plot resolves around an old man lusting after a younger woman. This plot line needs to stop. It needs to die. It has been done to death and it's disgusting, creepy, always sexist and often downright misogynist. Worse still, it's boring. I want books to entertain me, engage my mind, make me think, make me care about characters and events and be interesting. THERE SHOULD BE NO MORE BOOKS WHERE OLD MEN LUST AFTER YOUNG BEAUTIFUL WOMEN. The quota of books containing that storyline has been reached. There are enough tales telling that particular story. There is literally no way this story can be retold in a new and interesting way. Please, let no author ever write about it ever again. It's time has come.
I did finish the book because I wanted to see what happened. Unfortunately, the end of the book is quite stupid. The women characters who appeared so intriguing at the start of the story end up as caricatures and it was all strangely unsatisfactory. The Wonder Lovers gets two stars and a time-out in the naughty corner.
April 26, 2015
John Wonder is an authenticator. His job is to travel the globe, witnessing attempts on world records. His one notable quality is that he is a bland man and instantly forgettable. Still he manages to amass three wives and six children. The children are named after John’s parents, Adam and Evelyn—three of each. Oceans divide these families.
He juggles the three households with ease, spending a week at each house. He is a model husband and father. He cleans, cooks, changes nappies and always tells the children bedtime stories.
Something has to give, of course. He meets the most beautiful woman in the world and his carefully constructed world begins to crumble.
The Wonder Lover is an exciting novel, not because it has a thrilling and fast-paced storyline (it does not) but because the voice is fresh, the story quirky and the characters unusual. It is also extraordinarily well written.
Malcolm Knox is a brave author because his protagonist is not likeable. The reader can see that John Wonder is not a bad man--he always tries to do the right thing—but at the same time, he is not someone that the reader can like.
The first words of the book entranced me and I knew without a doubt that I was in the hands of a masterful storyteller. His prose is brilliant. In one scene, where John Wonder sees the most beautiful woman in the world for the second time, “…she strode out under her own majestic full sail, her jaw-dropping bust thrust forward, clad in tight jeans and cork wedges and a figure-hugging electric–blue cashmere sweater that evaporated moisture from the back of men’s throats…”
The narrator appears to be an amalgam of all his six children, or at least speaks for all of them. It is a delightful and unique device. Well done, Mr Knox.
The quirkiness of the story reminded me of Peter Carey’s writings, and like Carey’s books, I found myself chuckling from time to time. I am a reader who is easily bored, especially at the dreaded three-quarter stage of the story, but this did not happen in the case of The Wonder Lover. I read quickly and crazily until satisfied by the ending.
This is a fine novel indeed. Highly recommended.
He juggles the three households with ease, spending a week at each house. He is a model husband and father. He cleans, cooks, changes nappies and always tells the children bedtime stories.
Something has to give, of course. He meets the most beautiful woman in the world and his carefully constructed world begins to crumble.
The Wonder Lover is an exciting novel, not because it has a thrilling and fast-paced storyline (it does not) but because the voice is fresh, the story quirky and the characters unusual. It is also extraordinarily well written.
Malcolm Knox is a brave author because his protagonist is not likeable. The reader can see that John Wonder is not a bad man--he always tries to do the right thing—but at the same time, he is not someone that the reader can like.
The first words of the book entranced me and I knew without a doubt that I was in the hands of a masterful storyteller. His prose is brilliant. In one scene, where John Wonder sees the most beautiful woman in the world for the second time, “…she strode out under her own majestic full sail, her jaw-dropping bust thrust forward, clad in tight jeans and cork wedges and a figure-hugging electric–blue cashmere sweater that evaporated moisture from the back of men’s throats…”
The narrator appears to be an amalgam of all his six children, or at least speaks for all of them. It is a delightful and unique device. Well done, Mr Knox.
The quirkiness of the story reminded me of Peter Carey’s writings, and like Carey’s books, I found myself chuckling from time to time. I am a reader who is easily bored, especially at the dreaded three-quarter stage of the story, but this did not happen in the case of The Wonder Lover. I read quickly and crazily until satisfied by the ending.
This is a fine novel indeed. Highly recommended.
December 13, 2015
Reading this I felt I was in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing. Just one of those books you pick up and read the first page and go, yeah this is going to be good, and it was. Knox is an author I have been meaning to pick up for years, he seems like one of those authors that can slide from fiction to non fiction with irritating ease. At one stage I was contemplating his biography on Don Bradman, until I remembered it was about cricket.
'Wonder Lover' starts out as a simple fable, told through a chorus of united yet separate voices. A man with a many secrets, and each secret ,or in this case wife, does not know about the other one. As the story unfolds the more delicate and complicated it becomes as slowly characters are developed and things start to blend the writing develops a depth, well the writing is really good. It felt effortless, easy. Even though I admired other Australian man of letters Steve Toltz, you can tell he poured over each and every sentence.
Again because of the fable-ish beginning, it could be set in any country in any town, the landscape is as bland as John Wonder himself, yet as the story deepens you know that town intimately as the novel develops it's own character. And a story of love and the different types of love also turns into a story of identity.
It's just a good book, might even pick up the Don Bradman now, a book is not about the subject but how the writer tells the story.
Interesting note, the more I think about the book the more I don't like how the women were written, typical stereotypes kept creeping in. The angry passionate woman from South America, the passive woman from Asia, the complete bogan woman reveling in her boredom (though she was a hot of a character). Interestingly this is not a deal breaker, I loved the writing to much.
'Wonder Lover' starts out as a simple fable, told through a chorus of united yet separate voices. A man with a many secrets, and each secret ,or in this case wife, does not know about the other one. As the story unfolds the more delicate and complicated it becomes as slowly characters are developed and things start to blend the writing develops a depth, well the writing is really good. It felt effortless, easy. Even though I admired other Australian man of letters Steve Toltz, you can tell he poured over each and every sentence.
Again because of the fable-ish beginning, it could be set in any country in any town, the landscape is as bland as John Wonder himself, yet as the story deepens you know that town intimately as the novel develops it's own character. And a story of love and the different types of love also turns into a story of identity.
It's just a good book, might even pick up the Don Bradman now, a book is not about the subject but how the writer tells the story.
Interesting note, the more I think about the book the more I don't like how the women were written, typical stereotypes kept creeping in. The angry passionate woman from South America, the passive woman from Asia, the complete bogan woman reveling in her boredom (though she was a hot of a character). Interestingly this is not a deal breaker, I loved the writing to much.
May 29, 2016
I did not like this book. I completely disliked John Wonder but I think this may have been the point. A polygamist with three families; three wives, three sets of children and three homes, and even then that wasn't enough for him....in steps Cicada. I had to keep on reading as I really wanted to see him unravel and become undone. Did he? Well you may just have to read it and see for yourselves. There was very little in my opinion to like about this book. There were some moments of clever writing but there were also some discrepancies that really annoyed me and I'm not sure now if they were errors or deliberate. The concept of the children as narrators of the story was an interesting one, which mostly worked well but even that at times got confusing. Over all a pretty ordinary read but one that I'm glad I read because if someone had told me I wouldn't like this book I probably wouldn't have believed them.
October 25, 2015
A beautifully written almost allegorical tale about love, faith, facts and multiple families. Some passages put me in mind of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I'm not sure how I feel about the ending, but that's perhaps because I didn't want the book to end.
June 2, 2015
So not a fan of the use-80-words-instead-of-one or repeat-myself-in-twelve-different-ways writing style. Or the shallow and ambiguous group narration - the 6 children who narrated in once voice, and then had the audacity to claim at the end that they were actually all individuals (bring on Life of Brian). However as these techniques appear deliberate, perhaps it's a style that someone somewhere will appreciate more than I.
Writing style aside, there wasn't really much to this book. The following is not just a *SPOILER*, it's basically the whole book:
- One bland and boring bloke, has three simultaneous marriages and kids with identical names
- He meets a fourth women he is attracted to, where the age difference is just creepy
- A 129 year old woman has a birthday and dies a short period later
- The wives all find out
This book has had a lot of positive reviews, so I fully acknowledge that perhaps it just doesn't work for me.
Writing style aside, there wasn't really much to this book. The following is not just a *SPOILER*, it's basically the whole book:
- One bland and boring bloke, has three simultaneous marriages and kids with identical names
- He meets a fourth women he is attracted to, where the age difference is just creepy
- A 129 year old woman has a birthday and dies a short period later
- The wives all find out
This book has had a lot of positive reviews, so I fully acknowledge that perhaps it just doesn't work for me.
April 12, 2015
John Wonder is an authenticator of facts and stories, currently working for a company called The Last Word. He is an important man at this company, and his job sends him around the world to confirm the biggest, smallest, youngest, oldest, most, etc. During his years of work and travel, he develops three major relationships, and over time marries three separate women. Each of these marriages includes two children: Adam and Evie.
No matter the city, the same same perimeters surrounded him. That was how he built it. We are we. With his three wives, all unknown to each other, he had fathered a boy, and then a girl. The son was Adam and the daughter Evie. Little wonder he believed he held the secret of life.
This book is narrated from the group perspective of the children ("We are we."), and tells their father's story, the unraveling of all the knots and boundaries and standards he had set himself, and what it means for them:
Little wonder he believed he could do anything, anything, and get away with it. [...]
He might have believed he had space for one more. One last. [...]
Calamity struck our father. He fell in love.
Thus begins the tale of John Wonder's complicated life, focusing on the three women he has married, his relationships with these women, and how swiftly he falls for a fourth woman.
This book started out as somewhat heavy going. I tried reading some of it aloud and stumbled over some very "literate" sentences ("... [O]ur father conducted himself gamely to an automated glass door, which slid open." "Dad nodded pliantly, surrendering to the inescapable bond of autodidact literacy."). There were some words which seemed newly created (quasquicentenary!) and some amusing names (Menis - is that Men-iss or Mean-iss?! - Economopolous, and Mrs O'Oagh). As the book continued, though, the "trying too hard" element of the writing disappeared and the story became completely engrossing.
I enjoyed the facts and stories John told his children, and most of all I enjoyed the narrative flow when we met each of John's wives in turn. The book is split into four sections (First Love, Soulmate, Redeemer, Fall) and each section focuses on John's relationship with one of the four women. Each of the wives is very different and equally interesting; sympathy lies with each of them for different reasons.
The fourth woman, though - "this epic beauty, this Michelangelo's model, this porn star, this pageant queen, this Miss Universe" - was, for me, the least likeable character of all. Knox somehow manages to make you want to know more about her anyway -- she may be repugnant and cruel but by God, she's fascinating.
The fourth woman is gorgeous; there is one paragraph that describes her walking from a dingy motel bathroom to the bar, and I practically put the book down to applaud the mouth-watering picture it painted. The description of her breasts, her ass, her movement, and the effect her "figure-hugging electric-blue cashmere sweater" (amongst other, more voluptuous elements of her appearance) has on the men in the bar is downright cruel. Surely such a woman would lay waste to all those around her? What a creature she must be!
Also interesting was the world in which John Wonder lives -- it is a time of prosperity and "hyper-aging", where people frequently live to be well over 100 years old, and where the care of these old people is a problem that hasn't yet been resolved. This element of caring for the older generations seems very in touch with the current state of affairs in countries such as Australia -- and painted an interesting picture of what could be.
The children's point of view works well for narration of this story, and I was impressed with the plot and ending. Knox weaved this story so effortlessly and soundly that it is very easy to believe all the elements of the tale. Surely there are men out there living like John Wonder -- the basis of this fictional account rings so true that it is hard to believe it's not taken directly from reality. Unexpectedly but delightedly, I recommend this book as an enjoyable read.
I received this book from the publisher for free via First Reads here on Goodreads. I am aware I ought not quote from the book -- and am happy to remove the quotes if they are out of line with the final published version. Thank you!
No matter the city, the same same perimeters surrounded him. That was how he built it. We are we. With his three wives, all unknown to each other, he had fathered a boy, and then a girl. The son was Adam and the daughter Evie. Little wonder he believed he held the secret of life.
This book is narrated from the group perspective of the children ("We are we."), and tells their father's story, the unraveling of all the knots and boundaries and standards he had set himself, and what it means for them:
Little wonder he believed he could do anything, anything, and get away with it. [...]
He might have believed he had space for one more. One last. [...]
Calamity struck our father. He fell in love.
Thus begins the tale of John Wonder's complicated life, focusing on the three women he has married, his relationships with these women, and how swiftly he falls for a fourth woman.
This book started out as somewhat heavy going. I tried reading some of it aloud and stumbled over some very "literate" sentences ("... [O]ur father conducted himself gamely to an automated glass door, which slid open." "Dad nodded pliantly, surrendering to the inescapable bond of autodidact literacy."). There were some words which seemed newly created (quasquicentenary!) and some amusing names (Menis - is that Men-iss or Mean-iss?! - Economopolous, and Mrs O'Oagh). As the book continued, though, the "trying too hard" element of the writing disappeared and the story became completely engrossing.
I enjoyed the facts and stories John told his children, and most of all I enjoyed the narrative flow when we met each of John's wives in turn. The book is split into four sections (First Love, Soulmate, Redeemer, Fall) and each section focuses on John's relationship with one of the four women. Each of the wives is very different and equally interesting; sympathy lies with each of them for different reasons.
The fourth woman, though - "this epic beauty, this Michelangelo's model, this porn star, this pageant queen, this Miss Universe" - was, for me, the least likeable character of all. Knox somehow manages to make you want to know more about her anyway -- she may be repugnant and cruel but by God, she's fascinating.
The fourth woman is gorgeous; there is one paragraph that describes her walking from a dingy motel bathroom to the bar, and I practically put the book down to applaud the mouth-watering picture it painted. The description of her breasts, her ass, her movement, and the effect her "figure-hugging electric-blue cashmere sweater" (amongst other, more voluptuous elements of her appearance) has on the men in the bar is downright cruel. Surely such a woman would lay waste to all those around her? What a creature she must be!
Also interesting was the world in which John Wonder lives -- it is a time of prosperity and "hyper-aging", where people frequently live to be well over 100 years old, and where the care of these old people is a problem that hasn't yet been resolved. This element of caring for the older generations seems very in touch with the current state of affairs in countries such as Australia -- and painted an interesting picture of what could be.
The children's point of view works well for narration of this story, and I was impressed with the plot and ending. Knox weaved this story so effortlessly and soundly that it is very easy to believe all the elements of the tale. Surely there are men out there living like John Wonder -- the basis of this fictional account rings so true that it is hard to believe it's not taken directly from reality. Unexpectedly but delightedly, I recommend this book as an enjoyable read.
I received this book from the publisher for free via First Reads here on Goodreads. I am aware I ought not quote from the book -- and am happy to remove the quotes if they are out of line with the final published version. Thank you!
July 15, 2015
This is a very difficult one for me to rate, because while I didn't really like the novel and struggled to maintain interest, I can imagine many people absolutely loving the style and story. I picked it up thinking I was going to really like it, so maybe the blurb is a bit misleading. I wasn't expecting genre writing or anything too light, but I thought there would be a slightly more juicy and compact storyline to keep the reader really intrigued, and a bit more dialogue to maintain the action. The ending was also a bit of a flop. The Wonder Lover just wasn't for me - and for that reason I am giving it only 2 stars - but for those more inclined towards literary fiction about the inner lives of men, I would highly recommend it. The writing truly is beautifully rigorous and the concept of the plot is unique and memorable.
Read more on my blog: Middle Chapter
Read more on my blog: Middle Chapter
July 9, 2017
I tried. I really, really tried. Previous books by Knox have been so enjoyable but this was a chore. By creating such a boring lead character, he can do nothing but write a boring story. There were clever elements, but too well hidden amongst the dullness to have any effect. Joins an inauspicious list of unfinishable books.
July 15, 2023
Quite a difficult read, it was good but could have been a lot better. It only got interesting in the last 50 pages, but the whole book was a bit confusing in general.
July 28, 2021
It was so great ... and then it wasn't.
September 12, 2015
I came across this at a bookshop. You know, the type where the shop assistants provide some handwritten reviews attached to a small number of books on the shelves - this one caught my eye. Admittedly the cover did initially, but heed my warning readers, this book should not be judged by the cover alone! It's NOT your "Fifty Shades". Far from it! And yes, I would recommend it however, I'm not going to provide a lengthy review. It would only just spoil it.
But I will tell you this, it's about a very ordinary, forgettable man called John Wonder. John is an Authenticator whose job is to check the outlandish claims set by people across the globe to be included in books like the Guinness Book of Records.
(Love those handwritten reviews BTW)
But I will tell you this, it's about a very ordinary, forgettable man called John Wonder. John is an Authenticator whose job is to check the outlandish claims set by people across the globe to be included in books like the Guinness Book of Records.
(Love those handwritten reviews BTW)
April 2, 2015
I won this book through First Reads. This is the first time I've read any of Malcolm Knox's books and it's completely different from what I normally read. Nevertheless, The Wonder Lover has excellent build up of characters, their personalities and has a distinctive storyline. It also has a unique narrative point of view of a child(s), and sure enough, plenty of comedy. I was able to finish the book in a couple of sittings.
April 20, 2015
I left this book sensing that I had just witnessed an author at the top of their game.
It is almost a sleight of hand, that Knox achieves what he does with such ease. We see the finished product, but not the factory that made it. This novel a technicolour dreamcoat, where plot and language are weaved together so beautifully, that the seams are never exposed.
Full review here http://bookbirdy.com/2015/04/20/revie...
It is almost a sleight of hand, that Knox achieves what he does with such ease. We see the finished product, but not the factory that made it. This novel a technicolour dreamcoat, where plot and language are weaved together so beautifully, that the seams are never exposed.
Full review here http://bookbirdy.com/2015/04/20/revie...
November 10, 2015
Slow, slow, slowwww. I don't think I really got the point of this book at all? I was close to screaming at times due to the continual repetition of this boring character's motivations. The book only got anywhere near interesting at the very end. I only persisted with it because it was a bookclub book. BTW gratuitous and consistent use of the word "fuck" does not make a book interesting or edgy IMO.
July 14, 2015
Unremarkable- well written and highly imaginative. A new genre of bloke's fantasy fiction? Characters didn't make sense to me, nor the plot I didn't find any connection to the story or narrative. Highly irritating and ludicrous but I'm sure will appeal to a wide audience because in some ways it's audacious in working with the out limits of men's psyche and fantasies
November 9, 2020
Interesting premise, starting out being told by the children, but I did not finish this book. I didn’t like how the female characters were written and portrayed. I skipped ahead to see if John Wonder got his comeuppance, and then moved on. I have better things to read.
May 31, 2015
Couldn't even finish it, it was so boring! I felt like I was reading a book about world records and nothing else. No real depth.
December 15, 2025
John Wonder wants to have his cake and eat it too thrice over plus more and seems bulletproof to jetlag. He sees himself as a Matrimonial James Bond who does not practise safe sex to impregnate 3 different women and consequently marries them in 3 different continents. For all his flying and plane tickets bought surely he could bring the other two wives to Australia even if it means setting them up in Schofields for cheaper abode costs. Structurally found it flawed in the sense that the lead up to meeting Cicada is a drag and rather tedious and exasperating. John seems to objectify Cicada and make assumptions about her which bogs the narrative down somewhat. Had wanted to find out more about the third wife earlier in the text but which is eventually gotten around to for much later. John Wonder is perenially romantic and perpetually lustful and tends to put the onus on the women in his eventual entanglements with him. For example when Paulina the 2nd spouse tells him that they're going to fuck at that point in the plot surely John could have said "No sorry I'm married" and then what would the response of Paulina be to that. The ending fell flat and flatlined and plateaued because John is not more confrontational but he is not that way inclined at the start of the narrative but keeps having an unrealistic obsession over Cicada who probably looked like Monica Belluci who Malcolm didn't realise that he had in mind. There is fine writing and acute insight and Malcolm does have an astute perverse insight of women who have been defiled in some way from his own obvious personal experience. This book is a reverse in linearity in actuality in the sense that Malcolm must have had 2 girlfriends prior to his spouse to inspire this story especially in having some sleepless nights with all night rows with an ex girlfriend mentioned in a prior SMH publication. Who the antagonist is in this story is unclear plus there is telling when showing needs to be done but too much emphasis on the flat characters like Dorothy was a drag and tedious to the story. Malcolm is a Dad Man, Husband Man and Baby Man in having a crisis over wayward teaspoon. The age gap between John Wonder and Cici is of 30 yrs so big age gap to lust over her. Is it insulting that Cici is portrayed as promiscuous. In a way there was too many women and in the end when he needed a new woman it wasn't thought of to complete the finale with more punch. Plus the repetition of children's names was a bit tedious. Malcolm needs to work on shorter names to read like Menis long surname. Too much eyeful to say and to read for the eye over and over. The focus next time should be more on one person. Book that comes to mind is The Quiet American by Graham Greene. Rosemary Hill has read several of Greene's novels too. John W perhaps in rehabilitating outright could have met Eda Utku for memoir writing workshop for seniors, or Ros Gervay for art therapy or Bing Wu for local history art profile portraits etc to lead to a better and more definite and stronger ending. Otherwise there were parts that were funny, sharp, insightful. Plus Malcolm did get intense on the rundown of calamities included in latter part of story indicating his journalistic side. Found myself wanting to read ahead of the story which is not good as I got bored in parts. But is a solid writer but needs tighter editing and sharper ending to end the story and to not plateau. Too convenient for Kim to say that she doesn't want to know what John is not disclosing to her. Suggestion is perhaps write the first draft in longhand for a more organic and visceral approach to get the bulk of storyline down for a more catchy and punchy novel for the next book. The only woman that J Wonder needed all along was Jane Caro to the story of Wet Woman In The Wind set in Papua New Guinea as a geologist on her part and as mining engineer on his part possibly. So this book definitely needs a stronger ending which is what I want to say. Plus J W is a control freak in the extreme in not allowing the subversive truth of his secret double, secret triple life to be revealed to those involved in this imaginery realm of the author. If perhaps the author is shy in person he is wild on the page but perhaps to his detriment if some parts do doth have some frothing nonsense and is a little too preposterous to be credible.
June 21, 2019
alright the writing was so immersive i managed to down this book in two days which was pretty neat. malcolm knox has an excellent command over words, which managed to keep me deeply engrossed the entire time, despite the characters, and plot, and pretty much everything else being a combination of boring and annoying.
john wonder is a total sleezeball, and also completely unremarkable and forgettable, as the narrative reminds us every three pages. (somehow he manages to marry three women, despite how absolutely bland and dull he is.) he spends the majority of the novel in his late 50s lusting after a woman (The Most Beautiful Woman In The World) at least 25 years his junior. really great and fun to read about.
the whole book definitely has an air of male-author about it, but that quality is brought into focus whenever cicada appears. the narration becomes distinctly, unmistakably male. gotta mention cicada's breasts at least once every scene she's in or else how would we know she's The Most Beautiful Woman In The World????
and then the ending was as drab as john wonder himself. all the wives end up meeting, sure, but only because mr wonder has become essentially braindead, so the three wives can't even confront him in any satisfying way, because he can't respond. it felt like a copout. the whole time i was waiting for the three wives and cicada to meet, and john wonder finally getting his just desserts for deceiving these women, but then actually no he is kaput now goodbye. the end
it was a weird one, and pretty absurd. i can see why some people love this book. but not for me. too irritating.
john wonder is a total sleezeball, and also completely unremarkable and forgettable, as the narrative reminds us every three pages. (somehow he manages to marry three women, despite how absolutely bland and dull he is.) he spends the majority of the novel in his late 50s lusting after a woman (The Most Beautiful Woman In The World) at least 25 years his junior. really great and fun to read about.
the whole book definitely has an air of male-author about it, but that quality is brought into focus whenever cicada appears. the narration becomes distinctly, unmistakably male. gotta mention cicada's breasts at least once every scene she's in or else how would we know she's The Most Beautiful Woman In The World????
and then the ending was as drab as john wonder himself. all the wives end up meeting, sure, but only because mr wonder has become essentially braindead, so the three wives can't even confront him in any satisfying way, because he can't respond. it felt like a copout. the whole time i was waiting for the three wives and cicada to meet, and john wonder finally getting his just desserts for deceiving these women, but then actually no he is kaput now goodbye. the end
it was a weird one, and pretty absurd. i can see why some people love this book. but not for me. too irritating.
July 27, 2017
I did enjoy the absurd storyline of three wives in three separate countries and John's job authenticating the oldest woman in the world.
The second half of the book was a letdown for some reason, it felt like something was missing. I didn't expect a total neat wrap-up but something felt unfinished and strange regarding Cicada's character. Knox's writing is original and funny and so I would be keen to read more of his novels.
The second half of the book was a letdown for some reason, it felt like something was missing. I didn't expect a total neat wrap-up but something felt unfinished and strange regarding Cicada's character. Knox's writing is original and funny and so I would be keen to read more of his novels.
September 9, 2018
I was intrigued from the start.
How does a man get to have three wives all living in different countries?
Each family has two children, a boy and a girl called Adam and Evie.
Even more extraordinary is that he is not a poser, especially good looking or even interesting.
The narrators are the children.
I really enjoyed the story. And the ending was brilliant.
How does a man get to have three wives all living in different countries?
Each family has two children, a boy and a girl called Adam and Evie.
Even more extraordinary is that he is not a poser, especially good looking or even interesting.
The narrators are the children.
I really enjoyed the story. And the ending was brilliant.
August 19, 2019
I got about halfway through this book, but I was struggling to connect with any of the characters. Also, the inconsistent and unusual first person ‘we’ narrator was distracting. It probably didn’t help that I started another book at about the same time which also introduced a ‘we’ narrator halfway through. I won’t finish either book.
March 20, 2025
Read the book then listened to the audiobook.
What an incredible story having three families and not feeling any guilt- pl us on three different continents !
Amazing writing by Malcomb Knox.
Narrated by Francis Greenslade.
What an incredible story having three families and not feeling any guilt- pl us on three different continents !
Amazing writing by Malcomb Knox.
Narrated by Francis Greenslade.
September 22, 2017
Enjoyed this quirky tale of human web building. Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.
November 18, 2017
I got this one because of Christos Tsiolkas' cover blurb. Big mistake. I struggled to the end but didn't enjoy it. Um, what was the point exactly? I won't waste any more words on it.
September 4, 2018
just didn't like it. it was laboured and predictable.
June 26, 2019
my mum wanted to give this book away but I thought it sounded interesting so kept it. honestly..... a mistake.
September 26, 2020
Such a good writer but this story was too creepy to really enjoy it
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