The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim

The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim is the ninth novel by British author Jonathan Coe, first published in  2010. Maxwell Sim is divorced, is a stranger to his only daughter and alienated from his father who lives in Australia. He has no real friends. He is off work on some kind of stress leave and dreads returning. Then a business opportunity pops up  that will require him to drive an energy efficient car to the Shetland Isles to sell environmentally friendly toothbrushes. Things go from bad to worse as he tries to restore old connections but ultimately the voice on his SatNav is the only relationship he can count on. He's a sad, sad character. Sure there are some amusing bits but there is nothing amusing about his family history or his depression. The ending seems like a copout. My reaction was "Oh really? That's it? How not clever." Don't read it unless you like feeling let down and annoyed at the end of a novel.