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Knowing Max: A moving tale about life, love and legacy
‘James Long tackles big stuff . . . but he keeps it all readable by skilfully timing his disclosures’ - TIME OUT
At the age of thirteen, Miles Malan witnesses a horrifying fatal accident, which will never fade from his memory.
Ten years later, in an old trunk in a street market, Milo, as he now likes to be called, catches sight of a photograph that takes him back to that tragic day – and will plunge him into an extraordinary story. Going through the contents of the trunk, Milo begins to piece together the life-story of its owner Max Owen, from the extravagant Thirties in Monaco and St Moritz, through the Second World War, to the shady underworld of post-war London.
Milo has good reason for hiding from the present, but the past, it soon becomes clear, is far from dead. Knowing Max will change Milo’s life for ever.
‘A story of love and self-discovery that resonates across the ages’ - Nicholas Evans, author of THE HORSE WHISPERER
‘The book grips . . . It belongs to the unputdownable, so goodbye sleep. I love it . . . the whole story sang’ - Mary Wesley
‘The book is a lovely puzzle, exploring landscape and the lives that shape it, and a profound comment on the way each generation adapts to change. An ambitious, enthralling novel with distinct echoes of Hardy’ - MAIL ON SUNDAY
James Long is the author of the bestselling novel FERNEY and four acclaimed thrillers. A former BBC correspondent, he lives with his family in Devon.
At the age of thirteen, Miles Malan witnesses a horrifying fatal accident, which will never fade from his memory.
Ten years later, in an old trunk in a street market, Milo, as he now likes to be called, catches sight of a photograph that takes him back to that tragic day – and will plunge him into an extraordinary story. Going through the contents of the trunk, Milo begins to piece together the life-story of its owner Max Owen, from the extravagant Thirties in Monaco and St Moritz, through the Second World War, to the shady underworld of post-war London.
Milo has good reason for hiding from the present, but the past, it soon becomes clear, is far from dead. Knowing Max will change Milo’s life for ever.
‘A story of love and self-discovery that resonates across the ages’ - Nicholas Evans, author of THE HORSE WHISPERER
‘The book grips . . . It belongs to the unputdownable, so goodbye sleep. I love it . . . the whole story sang’ - Mary Wesley
‘The book is a lovely puzzle, exploring landscape and the lives that shape it, and a profound comment on the way each generation adapts to change. An ambitious, enthralling novel with distinct echoes of Hardy’ - MAIL ON SUNDAY
James Long is the author of the bestselling novel FERNEY and four acclaimed thrillers. A former BBC correspondent, he lives with his family in Devon.
391 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 7, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
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December 6, 2022Lume Books (Endeavour Press)
December 11, 2020
Knowing Max is another ripping yarn from James Long.
One day Milo buys an old trunk that turns out to be stuffed with papers relating to the life of a man called Max. Milo has plenty of reasons to run away from his own dysfunctional existence and so finding out more about this mysterious man quickly become an obsession. He dives into the documents as though discovering the truth about Max's life will somehow fix his own. But Max is a seriously unreliable narrator and documents in the trunk, including accounts of events written in Max's own hand, contradict each other. Milo is intrigued and finding the real Max becomes a serious quest.
Milo is a fascinatingly flawed and realistic character. He witnessed a car crash when he was a child which affected him badly and he never really got over the trauma. He uses the trunk as a diversion from dealing with his issues and there are moments when you just want to shake him and make him wake up. Max is just as intriguing - he's clearly an absolute cad, and yet viewed through Miles's eyes he becomes more sympathetic, even tragic, despite having brought all of his misfortunes on himself.
All in all, it's a cracking read.
One day Milo buys an old trunk that turns out to be stuffed with papers relating to the life of a man called Max. Milo has plenty of reasons to run away from his own dysfunctional existence and so finding out more about this mysterious man quickly become an obsession. He dives into the documents as though discovering the truth about Max's life will somehow fix his own. But Max is a seriously unreliable narrator and documents in the trunk, including accounts of events written in Max's own hand, contradict each other. Milo is intrigued and finding the real Max becomes a serious quest.
Milo is a fascinatingly flawed and realistic character. He witnessed a car crash when he was a child which affected him badly and he never really got over the trauma. He uses the trunk as a diversion from dealing with his issues and there are moments when you just want to shake him and make him wake up. Max is just as intriguing - he's clearly an absolute cad, and yet viewed through Miles's eyes he becomes more sympathetic, even tragic, despite having brought all of his misfortunes on himself.
All in all, it's a cracking read.
October 24, 2018
Abandoned half-way. I found Miles/Milo's naivety with regard to Cat and his money too maddening.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews