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The Notable Brain of Maximilian Ponder
On his twenty-first birthday, Maximilian Ponder shut himself away from the world to embark on his greatest project: an attempt to record every memory in his brain. It should have taken three years. But three long decades pass. Now Max lies dead, surrounded by his magnum opus - The Catalogue - a library of notebooks and journals that he hoped would form the map of a single human mind. And before his friend Adam can call the police and inform them of Max's death, one rather gruesome task remains...
Now Adam tells the story of the man he knew - a man whose life changed dramatically the day he buried a dead Labrador and fought a duel with his father. What emerges is both the story of a friendship and also of a lifelong obsession, a quest to understand how we construct the story of our lives.
Now Adam tells the story of the man he knew - a man whose life changed dramatically the day he buried a dead Labrador and fought a duel with his father. What emerges is both the story of a friendship and also of a lifelong obsession, a quest to understand how we construct the story of our lives.
296 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
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April 5, 2017
This was the first John Ironmonger book I read, and I confess that, just as with “Not Forgetting the Whale”, I bought it because of the cool cover. Seriously, this guy’s publishing house has a great designer who knows how to move copies…
I was quickly very impressed by the completely unique tale of Max Ponder. I must say, hats off for the clever Dickensian name, but also for this eccentric’s crazy project of recording every thought that had ever crossed his brain in a sprawling Catalogue. Because yes, that’s the aim of Max’s project: to write everything that’s in his head down and then give his body to science after he dies, so that when the technology permits, other scientists will be able to compare what he wrote to the contents of his actual physical brain.
The story is narrated in parts by Max’s best friend Adam Last (another uber-clever name) and shifts from present day, when Max is locked inside his house, with Adam being his only link to the outside world to prevent polluting the memories he is recording with new information he doesn’t want cluttering his brain, and the past, as read from one of the many tomes of the great Catalogue. This weird non-linear narrative is actually perfect for this unconventional story, because it reveals slowly the characters motivations and the incredible friendship linking the two men. While it opens with the revelation that Max died and that Adam now has a particularly weird final task to accomplish, you are kept wondering how things got to this place until the very last page.
This is a darkly funny and quirky book that is ultimately about loss, of loved ones, of memories of loved ones. Some parts of this story are very mundane and others are deeply philosophical reflections about life, death and the mark we leave on the world once we are gone.
Some spoilers from here on…
Max’s father passed away because of a brutal brain tumour, and one of the symptoms he deals with before dying is memory loss. When Max learns that these tumours are hereditary and that he will probably suffer the same fate as his father, he becomes obsessed with recording every memory he has because he believes that our memories define who we are, that they are building blocks of the person we turn into. This hit me close to home on many levels. My maternal grandmother suffered from Alzheimer’s disease for many years, and my grandfather, who was an incredibly influential person in my life, passed away when I was fourteen. All I have from these people who were so significant in shaping my character, are a few baubles and a massive amount of memories... Sometimes, they are easy to capture, but sometimes I can tell they are fading and I find that very concerning.
“The Notable Brain of Maximilian Ponder” is a short read, but it is also funny, thought-provoking and heartbreaking. It is not a perfect novel and some might consider it a bit pedantic with all the philosophy and shows of cleverness, but I suggest giving it a good serious try anyway. It might make you think about things you thought you forgot long ago.
(I preferred “Not Forgetting the Whale” to “The Notable Brain”, but I plan on re-reading both.)
I was quickly very impressed by the completely unique tale of Max Ponder. I must say, hats off for the clever Dickensian name, but also for this eccentric’s crazy project of recording every thought that had ever crossed his brain in a sprawling Catalogue. Because yes, that’s the aim of Max’s project: to write everything that’s in his head down and then give his body to science after he dies, so that when the technology permits, other scientists will be able to compare what he wrote to the contents of his actual physical brain.
The story is narrated in parts by Max’s best friend Adam Last (another uber-clever name) and shifts from present day, when Max is locked inside his house, with Adam being his only link to the outside world to prevent polluting the memories he is recording with new information he doesn’t want cluttering his brain, and the past, as read from one of the many tomes of the great Catalogue. This weird non-linear narrative is actually perfect for this unconventional story, because it reveals slowly the characters motivations and the incredible friendship linking the two men. While it opens with the revelation that Max died and that Adam now has a particularly weird final task to accomplish, you are kept wondering how things got to this place until the very last page.
This is a darkly funny and quirky book that is ultimately about loss, of loved ones, of memories of loved ones. Some parts of this story are very mundane and others are deeply philosophical reflections about life, death and the mark we leave on the world once we are gone.
Some spoilers from here on…
Max’s father passed away because of a brutal brain tumour, and one of the symptoms he deals with before dying is memory loss. When Max learns that these tumours are hereditary and that he will probably suffer the same fate as his father, he becomes obsessed with recording every memory he has because he believes that our memories define who we are, that they are building blocks of the person we turn into. This hit me close to home on many levels. My maternal grandmother suffered from Alzheimer’s disease for many years, and my grandfather, who was an incredibly influential person in my life, passed away when I was fourteen. All I have from these people who were so significant in shaping my character, are a few baubles and a massive amount of memories... Sometimes, they are easy to capture, but sometimes I can tell they are fading and I find that very concerning.
“The Notable Brain of Maximilian Ponder” is a short read, but it is also funny, thought-provoking and heartbreaking. It is not a perfect novel and some might consider it a bit pedantic with all the philosophy and shows of cleverness, but I suggest giving it a good serious try anyway. It might make you think about things you thought you forgot long ago.
(I preferred “Not Forgetting the Whale” to “The Notable Brain”, but I plan on re-reading both.)
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July 13, 2019I've now read three of John Ironmonger's books in the reverse order that he wrote them:
Not Forgetting the Whale
, Coincidence, and now what appears to be his first commercially published novel, The Notable Brain of Maximilian Ponder. I am glad to have read the other two wonderful books first because I can see his growth—in the later two books he worked out how to drive plot forward and seed in intellectual debates without them getting too ponderous. In The Notable Brain, a man who has dedicated himself to recording every thought he's ever had (as a kind of intellectual rage against the ephemeral nature of life) does just that, interspersed with plot, and for me, it became just what you would imagine it might be: cluttered and arduous to read. So I found myself skimming the chapters of the brain journals, called "The Catalogue." The story, told by his best friend, Adam Last, is sometimes compelling and has a wonderful ending, but it stalls or flatlines many times during intellectual soliloquies and the journal entries—with the exception of the description of Spiro Agnew as "a man who is distinguished by the fact that his name is an anagram of 'grow a penis.' (250)"
Despite my problems with this book, Ironmonger's writing is fine (as in "elegant" and "well done") and I'm glad to know more about his genesis as an artist.
Despite my problems with this book, Ironmonger's writing is fine (as in "elegant" and "well done") and I'm glad to know more about his genesis as an artist.
August 20, 2015
This is one of those books that makes you think, “This is unique. There is nothing else out there quite like this.” And I think I’m right.
The Notable Brain of Maximilian Ponder is compelling, gripping, vivid, emotional, heartbreaking, funny, philosophical, and, quite frankly, genius. It was so much more than what I thought it was going to be when it first came through the post. It made me think and evaluate life, and brought back all the philosophical musings I had back in college when I was studying Philosophy at A-Level.
The other night as I sat reading the book, my boyfriend turned to me and remarked, “That doesn’t look like it’s got a very happy ending.” And I guess he’s right – how can a book that immediately starts with a passage referring to the protagonist’s dead body have a happy ending?! – but this didn’t put me off at all. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love it when books end happily but my enjoyment of this book didn’t suffer. The substance, the message, the philosophical nature of the story more than made up for the fact that it has a rather unpleasant subject matter. It’s not just about death. It’s about the effects and consequences of death, yes, but it’s also about life and the celebration of life, and how we can make sure that our lives have some kind of impact on the world, even when we’re gone.
While Max’s last name – Ponder – is an obvious little play on words, it doesn’t come across as trying too hard. It fits him perfectly – after all, more than half of his life is spent pondering the idea of memory and death.
‘When I become a famous philosopher, I want something more individual than “Ponderian.”‘
‘You could always have “Ponderous”,’ said Ravi.
‘Fuck off,’ said Max.
‘Ponderosan,’ I suggested.
‘You can fuck off too, Last. I want Ponderic.’
And perhaps it’s just the English student in me being far too pedantic and analytical, but I love the idea of Adam Last’s surname reflecting on the fact that he stays with Max until his very last moments, and beyond. In fact, Adam remarks in the book that people found the ironic contrast in his name – Adam, the ‘first’ ever man, with the surname ‘Last’ – amusing, so of course we could analyse names until the cows come home, but that would be taking away from the true beauty of the book.
Memory pops up again as a theme in this book, like in so many books I’ve been reading before it. Of course Max’s project is to record every memory his brain has ever had, every scrap of knowledge, even if he suspects that memory to be disjointed or wrong – if his mind remembers and perceives it that way, then that is what he must write down. As he remarks himself in the Catalogue, “Memory involves all sorts of cross-wiring and quality control before it bubbles up to the surface.”
The reason Max is so preoccupied with the idea of memory and death is because both his uncle and his dad die of a horrific hereditary brain tumour. Through his grief he recognises that memory is all that people have and that memory is what makes a person who they are. It’s this fear and this point of view that drives him to catalogue his own brain.
Every time someone dies it’s like the world loses a big chunk of information for ever. I don’t mean to say that every bit of that information is especially valuable, but it’s surely just as valuable as a fragment of pot from a Roman villa, or a fossil from some riverbed in China.
Despite the questionable (at best) life choice that Max makes in the book, I found myself relating heavily to his thoughts and especially his fears. Scarily, in the past I’ve often found myself thinking these exact things, and on more than one occasion I’ve considered starting my own ‘catalogue’ of sorts. I remember a couple of months back, before ever hearing of this book, driving down the motorway and musing on my life and how many people I’ve known and met and interacted with and had friendships or relationships or working relationships with. I imagined myself putting together a scrapbook or account of everyone I’d known and met and how they’d influenced my life, so that when I died there would be something left behind, and people would know that their lives and mine had some meaning and impact on others. Now, I know this is nothing like the scale of cataloging your own brain, but it’s for this reason that the concept of this book was not completely unrelatable or indeed too far-fetched for me. I understood Max. I understand the value that he places in the power of human experience and memory, and the loss he feels when someone dies and all of that disappears.
What do we do with the richest information we have available – the material locked away in the brains of four billion people? You know what we do? Sod all.
He struggles with the notion that we have memories that are actually there, but we can’t access easily and at will. In this passage he talks about how he knows that he used to know the Swahili word for ‘friend’, but try as he might, he cannot remember it. Then, years later, it comes to him:
…and then, like a bloody great tsunami, this word emerged in slow motion and came thundering through the ether towards me, a suffocating deluge of a word, a word that slapped me across the face like a saltwater surge and the word was – ‘rafiki’. Now, I can honestly swear that you could have strapped me naked to a wheel and threatened to apply ten thousand volts to my bollocks and you couldn’t have coaxed that three-syllable word out of my sluggard brain.
It is the realisation that memory can not always be summoned at will that makes Max come to the conclusion that three years will not be enough to undertake such a massive project. It changes from being a dedicated research project to a simple way of life.
I love the way the book deals with relationships. Obviously Max and Adam’s relationship is quite unlike any other. As Max locks himself away from the outside world, with strict rules that he can never know what’s happening other than within the four walls of his home, he becomes completely dependent on Adam to feed him, take care of his estate, to arrange the binding and organisation of the volumes of his Catalogue, and to make sure that the outside world does not pollute his project. This makes their friendship truly unique, requiring a huge amount of trust from Max and a massive sacrifice from Adam. He gives up a promising marketing career in order to take care of Max’s business and devote himself to the project.
Through a non-linear narrative, Ironmonger builds up a vivid story which allows the reader to fully understand why Adam would make such a huge sacrifice for Max. He takes us back to Africa in the 1960s, the place and time that the two boys first forge a friendship. From there the novel takes us on a journey through both Adam’s and Max’s lives and minds. There is a lot of love and dependence within the novel, and nothing feels unbelievable or out of place. Adam continuously feels that he is working for, and waiting for, Max, but he never wavers in his dedication to his friend. As a reader, you begin to love the men for their strange but strong relationship with each other.
I seemed to spend my life waiting for Max.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found none of it boring or hard work. It was a real pleasure to read. I would like to thank Phil for recommending this book to me. I could write a much longer review, but whatever I do write won’t do the novel justice. All I can do is urge you to read it yourself. You definitely won’t be disappointed.
The Notable Brain of Maximilian Ponder is compelling, gripping, vivid, emotional, heartbreaking, funny, philosophical, and, quite frankly, genius. It was so much more than what I thought it was going to be when it first came through the post. It made me think and evaluate life, and brought back all the philosophical musings I had back in college when I was studying Philosophy at A-Level.
The other night as I sat reading the book, my boyfriend turned to me and remarked, “That doesn’t look like it’s got a very happy ending.” And I guess he’s right – how can a book that immediately starts with a passage referring to the protagonist’s dead body have a happy ending?! – but this didn’t put me off at all. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love it when books end happily but my enjoyment of this book didn’t suffer. The substance, the message, the philosophical nature of the story more than made up for the fact that it has a rather unpleasant subject matter. It’s not just about death. It’s about the effects and consequences of death, yes, but it’s also about life and the celebration of life, and how we can make sure that our lives have some kind of impact on the world, even when we’re gone.
While Max’s last name – Ponder – is an obvious little play on words, it doesn’t come across as trying too hard. It fits him perfectly – after all, more than half of his life is spent pondering the idea of memory and death.
‘When I become a famous philosopher, I want something more individual than “Ponderian.”‘
‘You could always have “Ponderous”,’ said Ravi.
‘Fuck off,’ said Max.
‘Ponderosan,’ I suggested.
‘You can fuck off too, Last. I want Ponderic.’
And perhaps it’s just the English student in me being far too pedantic and analytical, but I love the idea of Adam Last’s surname reflecting on the fact that he stays with Max until his very last moments, and beyond. In fact, Adam remarks in the book that people found the ironic contrast in his name – Adam, the ‘first’ ever man, with the surname ‘Last’ – amusing, so of course we could analyse names until the cows come home, but that would be taking away from the true beauty of the book.
Memory pops up again as a theme in this book, like in so many books I’ve been reading before it. Of course Max’s project is to record every memory his brain has ever had, every scrap of knowledge, even if he suspects that memory to be disjointed or wrong – if his mind remembers and perceives it that way, then that is what he must write down. As he remarks himself in the Catalogue, “Memory involves all sorts of cross-wiring and quality control before it bubbles up to the surface.”
The reason Max is so preoccupied with the idea of memory and death is because both his uncle and his dad die of a horrific hereditary brain tumour. Through his grief he recognises that memory is all that people have and that memory is what makes a person who they are. It’s this fear and this point of view that drives him to catalogue his own brain.
Every time someone dies it’s like the world loses a big chunk of information for ever. I don’t mean to say that every bit of that information is especially valuable, but it’s surely just as valuable as a fragment of pot from a Roman villa, or a fossil from some riverbed in China.
Despite the questionable (at best) life choice that Max makes in the book, I found myself relating heavily to his thoughts and especially his fears. Scarily, in the past I’ve often found myself thinking these exact things, and on more than one occasion I’ve considered starting my own ‘catalogue’ of sorts. I remember a couple of months back, before ever hearing of this book, driving down the motorway and musing on my life and how many people I’ve known and met and interacted with and had friendships or relationships or working relationships with. I imagined myself putting together a scrapbook or account of everyone I’d known and met and how they’d influenced my life, so that when I died there would be something left behind, and people would know that their lives and mine had some meaning and impact on others. Now, I know this is nothing like the scale of cataloging your own brain, but it’s for this reason that the concept of this book was not completely unrelatable or indeed too far-fetched for me. I understood Max. I understand the value that he places in the power of human experience and memory, and the loss he feels when someone dies and all of that disappears.
What do we do with the richest information we have available – the material locked away in the brains of four billion people? You know what we do? Sod all.
He struggles with the notion that we have memories that are actually there, but we can’t access easily and at will. In this passage he talks about how he knows that he used to know the Swahili word for ‘friend’, but try as he might, he cannot remember it. Then, years later, it comes to him:
…and then, like a bloody great tsunami, this word emerged in slow motion and came thundering through the ether towards me, a suffocating deluge of a word, a word that slapped me across the face like a saltwater surge and the word was – ‘rafiki’. Now, I can honestly swear that you could have strapped me naked to a wheel and threatened to apply ten thousand volts to my bollocks and you couldn’t have coaxed that three-syllable word out of my sluggard brain.
It is the realisation that memory can not always be summoned at will that makes Max come to the conclusion that three years will not be enough to undertake such a massive project. It changes from being a dedicated research project to a simple way of life.
I love the way the book deals with relationships. Obviously Max and Adam’s relationship is quite unlike any other. As Max locks himself away from the outside world, with strict rules that he can never know what’s happening other than within the four walls of his home, he becomes completely dependent on Adam to feed him, take care of his estate, to arrange the binding and organisation of the volumes of his Catalogue, and to make sure that the outside world does not pollute his project. This makes their friendship truly unique, requiring a huge amount of trust from Max and a massive sacrifice from Adam. He gives up a promising marketing career in order to take care of Max’s business and devote himself to the project.
Through a non-linear narrative, Ironmonger builds up a vivid story which allows the reader to fully understand why Adam would make such a huge sacrifice for Max. He takes us back to Africa in the 1960s, the place and time that the two boys first forge a friendship. From there the novel takes us on a journey through both Adam’s and Max’s lives and minds. There is a lot of love and dependence within the novel, and nothing feels unbelievable or out of place. Adam continuously feels that he is working for, and waiting for, Max, but he never wavers in his dedication to his friend. As a reader, you begin to love the men for their strange but strong relationship with each other.
I seemed to spend my life waiting for Max.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found none of it boring or hard work. It was a real pleasure to read. I would like to thank Phil for recommending this book to me. I could write a much longer review, but whatever I do write won’t do the novel justice. All I can do is urge you to read it yourself. You definitely won’t be disappointed.
May 5, 2016
Çok keyifle okudum, bu kadar iyi çıkacağını tahmin etmiyordum.
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February 2, 2022Konu açısından ilginç, romancılık tekniği açısından zayıf bir kitap. Mekan tasvirleri zayıf, olay akışında çok boşluk var. Sanki gereğinden fazla uzatılmış gibi. Anlatıcı, olayların içerisine tam konumlandırılamamış. Kitapta akibeti belli olmayan yan karakterler var Elenora gibi. Bununla birlikte, özellikle son bölümde Benjamin Button'ın Tuhaf Hikayesi'nin esintileri hissediliyor.
October 30, 2017
Fazla beklentiyle başladığım için pek beğenemedim. Kitabın girişi de beklentiyi artırıyordu üstelik ama bir noktadan sonra sanki bir döngüye takılıp kalmış gibi hissettim. Üstelik zaman akışını bozan hikayeleri ilgi çekici bulurum normalde ama bu sefer konuyu da hem eksik hem fazla bulduğum yerler olunca zaman akışına uygun olmasını tercih ederdim.
January 1, 2021
Can a person write down everything they know, making a perfect record of the content of their brain? What starts as a question between friends at a party ("How many movies do you know?") quickly spirals out of control. Complications begin with that first question (what is "know"? does one have to have seen the movie or does it count to have heard of it only? what if you saw it, but don't remember it? how much detail do you need to remember for it to count? what of classics that you have never actually seen yourself, but you still know the plot in broad strokes?), but quickly takes on absurd qualities when the protagonist actually secludes himself determined to write down any and all memories, portraits of all the people he met, details of all places visited, recounting all school and university knowledge, repeating the content of all culture consumed, etc.
The novel seems to want to send two messages: the obvious being "live your life rather than wasting it trying to record it in detail". The other one comes out towards the end of the story: "it is the small details of lives and everyday life that are important next to the great moments of history, those are what make history interesting. so record those in diaries and letters and the like and also read up on those accounts from previous generations." Both the basic premise as well as those messages were interesting. What I did not fully understand were the flashbacks to seemingly random moments of the protagonist's life before his experiment. I did not see their connection to the main plot clearly at all times, therefore they bored me a bit.
The novel seems to want to send two messages: the obvious being "live your life rather than wasting it trying to record it in detail". The other one comes out towards the end of the story: "it is the small details of lives and everyday life that are important next to the great moments of history, those are what make history interesting. so record those in diaries and letters and the like and also read up on those accounts from previous generations." Both the basic premise as well as those messages were interesting. What I did not fully understand were the flashbacks to seemingly random moments of the protagonist's life before his experiment. I did not see their connection to the main plot clearly at all times, therefore they bored me a bit.
March 24, 2016
Hakkında çok şey söylemek isteyeceğiniz (ancak su an soyleyemeyecek gibi hissettiren), hayal gücünüzü zorlayan, dikkatle yazılmış, akıcı ve kesinlikle okunmaya değer bir kitap. Yaratıcılıkta ufuk açıyor.
June 8, 2025
Sevip sevmediğime karar veremediğim bir kitap. İnanılmaz ilginç başladı, arkadaşlık, zihin haritalama, anılarımızı gerçekten hatırladığımız gibi mi yoksa zihnimizde kendi yazdığımız senaryoları mı anı diye kaydediyoruz (ki bilimsel olarak evet, kendi kendimize bazen savunma mekanizması olarak bunu yapıyoruz. Zaten buna dayalı psikoterapötik tedavi girişimleri de yok mu a dostlar) diye diye okudum. Ama gel gör ki ay bazen daraldım okurken, yani soru da sordurmuyor, Adam da olayı anlatmıyor, bomboş günlük okuyoruz gibi hissettiğim zamanlar oldu.
Eleanor’la Adam’ın evlenmemesine şaşırdığımı araya sıkıştırayım.
Adam’ın doktorla konuştuğu bölümdeki etiketleme diyaloğu müthişti. Psikoloji dünyasında konuşulan “psikolojik tanıların herkes tarafından fütursuzca konuşulması iyi mi oldu kötü mü oldu” tartışmalarını aklıma getirdiği için hoşuma gitti.
Sonunda tabii ki ağladım ve ayyyy bitmesin dedim. Sanırım bu isteğim üzerine biraz düşünmeliyim, acı çeken birini okumak mı beni ağlatması mı nedir bana “bitmesin yaaa” dedirten itki ahajajj
Eleanor’la Adam’ın evlenmemesine şaşırdığımı araya sıkıştırayım.
Adam’ın doktorla konuştuğu bölümdeki etiketleme diyaloğu müthişti. Psikoloji dünyasında konuşulan “psikolojik tanıların herkes tarafından fütursuzca konuşulması iyi mi oldu kötü mü oldu” tartışmalarını aklıma getirdiği için hoşuma gitti.
Sonunda tabii ki ağladım ve ayyyy bitmesin dedim. Sanırım bu isteğim üzerine biraz düşünmeliyim, acı çeken birini okumak mı beni ağlatması mı nedir bana “bitmesin yaaa” dedirten itki ahajajj
August 20, 2024
This tale - centrally about the titular Max Ponder deciding to shut himself away aged 21 to categorise the contents of his brain - was surprisingly interesting, considering I think I picked this up as a punt from a pound shop or something similar.
Though slightly indulgent (the premise allows for some fairly disconnected reminisces, which I'm fairly convinced were the author recalling his own East African upbringing, and/or performing some writing exercises which weren't fully integrated with the story) the simple plot did allow for some very interesting points to be made about mortality, fallibility and relativism. It also had a playful aspect in places, reminding me slightly of Georges Perec's 'Life: A User's Manual'.
Though slightly indulgent (the premise allows for some fairly disconnected reminisces, which I'm fairly convinced were the author recalling his own East African upbringing, and/or performing some writing exercises which weren't fully integrated with the story) the simple plot did allow for some very interesting points to be made about mortality, fallibility and relativism. It also had a playful aspect in places, reminding me slightly of Georges Perec's 'Life: A User's Manual'.
April 22, 2021
A really well written book that was at times a joy to read. Yes, the backstory of the two main characters (shared by the author) is of white privilege in postcolonial Kenya and yes, Ponder himself heads off to Eton and Cambridge, but the account of life in east Africa in the 1960s and 1970s and a boat trip on Lake Victoria is fascinating and expertly handled. It’s an ingenious story about a wish to catalogue the human brain and the pitfalls are many – I was also left infuriated by the demands Ponder places on those around him, typical of a man of his social station. At times, the book reminded me of Jonathan Coe in that the narrative spans an arch of British history from the 1960s until the present and the plot must have taken a while to devise. Entertaining indeed.
May 5, 2015
This book is the most unique story I’ve ever read. An entire concept made up, to make up a story that is both strange (in a fun, quirky way) and really entertaining to read. It’s one of those books where the author shifts back and forth in time and in character but it all comes together as the chapters go by. (Short chapters if I may add. I love short chapters.)
Maximilian Ponder is a clever and curious young man who comes up with an idea while contemplating life, human limitations, and memories. He realizes that at any point in our lives we will fo
rget things we have learned or faced in our past and will be unable to ever retrieve that memory fully back again. So he starts a project where he records every bit of information he has stored in that notable brain of his, from the earliest memories possible till the end of his days. Many events occur that shape Max’s bizarre character and his reason to pursue the excessively time-consuming project he sets out to create. And it’s all down to his childhood friend, Adam Last, who narrates Max’s life as his only resort to explain Max’s gruesome, yet sad death.
You can’t help but be impressed by the level of creativity and detail that the author puts into Max’s character and the project that’s carefully thought out as if it truly existed. This is J. W. Ironmonger’s first and only novel inspired by the loss of his father and the loss of memories shared with him. It’s an enjoyable read fit for a teenager and young adult to dive into during the summer. It’s also eye-opening in a way, in respect to how we should view events that take place in our lives that form these memories. When we do remember, we either don’t remember the complete story or our recollection of that memory is almost entirely different than how things actually went down.
“Keep a diary, and someday it’ll keep you.” – Mae West
Maximilian Ponder is a clever and curious young man who comes up with an idea while contemplating life, human limitations, and memories. He realizes that at any point in our lives we will fo
rget things we have learned or faced in our past and will be unable to ever retrieve that memory fully back again. So he starts a project where he records every bit of information he has stored in that notable brain of his, from the earliest memories possible till the end of his days. Many events occur that shape Max’s bizarre character and his reason to pursue the excessively time-consuming project he sets out to create. And it’s all down to his childhood friend, Adam Last, who narrates Max’s life as his only resort to explain Max’s gruesome, yet sad death.
You can’t help but be impressed by the level of creativity and detail that the author puts into Max’s character and the project that’s carefully thought out as if it truly existed. This is J. W. Ironmonger’s first and only novel inspired by the loss of his father and the loss of memories shared with him. It’s an enjoyable read fit for a teenager and young adult to dive into during the summer. It’s also eye-opening in a way, in respect to how we should view events that take place in our lives that form these memories. When we do remember, we either don’t remember the complete story or our recollection of that memory is almost entirely different than how things actually went down.
“Keep a diary, and someday it’ll keep you.” – Mae West
March 10, 2014
It is rare that I read a book that throws up so many philosophical questions about life, as this little gem of a novel. J. W. Ironmonger has all the makings of a very accomplished writer, his unique voice adds weight to what is already an original idea. Though a relatively short read, coming in at 293 pages, some of life's greatest mysteries are explored here. What it is to Love those around us, dealing with loss and death are just some of the subjects tackled and despite the short length nothing seems rushed at all. The pacing just seems spot on.
I always find it refreshing to discover a book with a unique premise that actually delivers at the end. Sometimes an original starting point is never truly explored and the rest of the book lets the writer down. It really does feel as though these ideas were thoroughly explored and in many ways significantly resolved. The very idea of a man so obsessed with the inner workings of his brain that he shuts himself away, cutting himself off from life completely, so that he can write a catalogue of his every memory, fact and thought, is brilliant.
I enjoyed this book immensely, the ending was heart breaking and very well written. Upon finishing I immediately sought out Ironmonger's other works, and added all of them to my reading list. Giving a clear indication of just how much I enjoyed this excellent novel.
As far as you or I attempting to catalogue our every thought, it seems a daunting and impossible task. The very last line of Ironmonger's postscript tells us all we need to know about the mere prospect of doing so ourselves. He states that "It is not really possible to catalogue your brain. DO NOT try this at home!"
I always find it refreshing to discover a book with a unique premise that actually delivers at the end. Sometimes an original starting point is never truly explored and the rest of the book lets the writer down. It really does feel as though these ideas were thoroughly explored and in many ways significantly resolved. The very idea of a man so obsessed with the inner workings of his brain that he shuts himself away, cutting himself off from life completely, so that he can write a catalogue of his every memory, fact and thought, is brilliant.
I enjoyed this book immensely, the ending was heart breaking and very well written. Upon finishing I immediately sought out Ironmonger's other works, and added all of them to my reading list. Giving a clear indication of just how much I enjoyed this excellent novel.
As far as you or I attempting to catalogue our every thought, it seems a daunting and impossible task. The very last line of Ironmonger's postscript tells us all we need to know about the mere prospect of doing so ourselves. He states that "It is not really possible to catalogue your brain. DO NOT try this at home!"
August 2, 2022
I love Ironmonger's other books, so I was predisposed to view this favorably. The truth is I probably would not have stuck with it if it was another author. I did enjoy it but would not recommend it.
September 10, 2020
Het plot van dit boek is beyond weird: Alle herinneringen van je hele leven neerschrijven met als resultaat een giga-catalogus van uw brein. Hoe de auteur op dat idee is gekomen, it blows my mind.
Hoe onmogelijk dit ook is (de auteur waarschuwt de lezer hier ook letterlijk voor in de postscripts: "It is not really possible to catalogue your own brain. DO NOT try this at home." Funny guy) het doet je wel nadenken over hoe complex het menselijke brein is en hoe complex en onvatbaar herinneringen en het proces van dingen herinneren zijn. Het is niet iets waar je alle dagen over nadenkt...
Het hoofdpersonage stelt zich af en toe de vraag waarom hij zich bepaalde dingen herinnert en dat leidt voor de lezer tot de fijne, maar toch liefst te vermijden, constatatie dat je je veel te veel dingen herinnert. Dingen waarvan je denkt: "Amai, da was iets kei onbelangrijks, waarom weet ik da nog". En dan valt het nog mee, maar dingen zoals: "Djeez Louis da was zo shtoem van mij, WAAROM WEET IK DA NOG?" Memory is a cruel joke folks.
Basically is dit een goed boek, met een vreemd plot en is het best gezellig om te lezen!
Hoe onmogelijk dit ook is (de auteur waarschuwt de lezer hier ook letterlijk voor in de postscripts: "It is not really possible to catalogue your own brain. DO NOT try this at home." Funny guy) het doet je wel nadenken over hoe complex het menselijke brein is en hoe complex en onvatbaar herinneringen en het proces van dingen herinneren zijn. Het is niet iets waar je alle dagen over nadenkt...
Het hoofdpersonage stelt zich af en toe de vraag waarom hij zich bepaalde dingen herinnert en dat leidt voor de lezer tot de fijne, maar toch liefst te vermijden, constatatie dat je je veel te veel dingen herinnert. Dingen waarvan je denkt: "Amai, da was iets kei onbelangrijks, waarom weet ik da nog". En dan valt het nog mee, maar dingen zoals: "Djeez Louis da was zo shtoem van mij, WAAROM WEET IK DA NOG?" Memory is a cruel joke folks.
Basically is dit een goed boek, met een vreemd plot en is het best gezellig om te lezen!
August 12, 2014
Well-written, with a fascinating concept, this comes off as more of a thought experiment or series of essays than a novel.
The story of a man attempting to catalogue & document his entire brain is fascinating, and the chapters jump between his notes and the story of his friend who has assisted him all of his adult life.
It seemed to be just picking up, and then suddenly over, leaving me to believe the book was written solely for a one-page soliloquy in the third-to-last chapter (which is the highlight of the book) and the sad penultimate chapter, which was a heartbreaking account of losing someone to an illness.
So yeah. Also, just quietly, I am sick to death of hearing the stories of rich colonial white male kids in Africa in the early to mid 20th century. I feel like I've heard it a million times.
The story of a man attempting to catalogue & document his entire brain is fascinating, and the chapters jump between his notes and the story of his friend who has assisted him all of his adult life.
It seemed to be just picking up, and then suddenly over, leaving me to believe the book was written solely for a one-page soliloquy in the third-to-last chapter (which is the highlight of the book) and the sad penultimate chapter, which was a heartbreaking account of losing someone to an illness.
So yeah. Also, just quietly, I am sick to death of hearing the stories of rich colonial white male kids in Africa in the early to mid 20th century. I feel like I've heard it a million times.
August 13, 2017
Love it, love it, love it. I read this in two days and I have been thinking about it for a few days afterward. I absolutely identify with Max's craziness, obsession with writing everything down and feeling frustrated, or way over your head when you realize that is not an achievable goal (even in 30years). The brain, our brains, in particular, is full of mysteries and knowing how it works, why it works that way is an interesting goal to have. Made me want to really focus on writing in my diary every day.
January 12, 2014
İlk kitap olarak çok başarılı buldu arkadaşlarım. Ama ben de benzer bir sebepten sevmedim. Bir ilk kitap cüretkarlığı ya da enerjisi yoktu. Güzel bir hikayesi var, çok iyi kısa öykü olabilirdi. Ama 300 sayfa boyunca beni heyecanlandıracak bir yanı olmadı. Bazı yerlerde o kadar sıkıldım ki, bir cümle sonrasını merak etmedim.
Ama yazarın sonraki romanlarını da okumak isterim. En azından iyi bir özü olduğu hissini veriyor.
Ama yazarın sonraki romanlarını da okumak isterim. En azından iyi bir özü olduğu hissini veriyor.
January 7, 2020
Did you ever think about cataloguing your brain? You will after reading this.
English: https://elifthereader.com/books/the-n...
Türkçe: http://kitaplikkedisi.com/2013/04/j-w...
English: https://elifthereader.com/books/the-n...
Türkçe: http://kitaplikkedisi.com/2013/04/j-w...
May 28, 2021
Really, really liked this!
Such an odd book that I randomly added to my list years and years ago and I'm so happy I did.
Such a rich story that makes you think about relationships, the human mind and the legacy we can leave behind.
Highly recommend!!
Such an odd book that I randomly added to my list years and years ago and I'm so happy I did.
Such a rich story that makes you think about relationships, the human mind and the legacy we can leave behind.
Highly recommend!!
February 27, 2015
Properly British quirkiness. I wanted the big, dark twist (it was hinted) but it didn't come.
July 21, 2021
Fascinating and a great time.
February 26, 2022
The plot of this book seemed so interesting...But the initial chapter of the story was written in a way that made them feel unbearably dull- every detail was described in excruciating detail. DNF.
August 10, 2025
There’s nothing I don’t like about this book. It opens with one man lying dead on a mahogany table, another preparing to cut off his head - in service of a lifelong project. From there, we get their intertwined life stories in short bursts, interspersed with the dead man’s own writings, in which he attempts to catalogue every memory in his brain. We move through childhood in Kenya, boarding school and university in England, stories of loss, of lepers and dead bodies pulled from the Nile, the peculiar world of the Ponder family, the burial of a dog, fencing duels—and so much more.
The overarching themes are memory and perception. How do we know our memories are true? Wouldn’t someone else remember the same events completely differently? Even looking at the same object, we might describe it in utterly different terms. Where do our memories live? Can they be retrieved once the brain stops working? While wading through these questions, the novel also asks whether our memories are even valuable. Max is horrified by the sheer amount we lose when someone dies: every bit of content in their mind gone forever. For him, our memories and perceptions make up the world; every fleeting thought is part of history. But if our thoughts are subjective and our memories unreliable, do they not give us a false history? And if we could extract every memory from every dying person, would the sheer overload render them useless?
The narrator—Adam Last—has spent his life assisting Max Ponder (the man on the table) with his colossal cataloguing project. He doesn’t share Max’s faith that future science will map the contents of our brains after death, yet still helps him stay completely isolated from society for over thirty years to record every thought from his life. Their friendship is the backbone of the novel, evolving from Adam’s initial incorporation into the Ponder family to Max’s utter dependence on him for everything, even in death. While the characters aren’t always easy to relate to, I couldn’t help loving them.
Despite its philosophical undercurrent, the tone is darkly comical. Ponder’s quirky writing made me chuckle more than once, and Adam’s grim task of dealing with the body is narrated with a dry, ironic detachment that made me smile. The Notable Brain of Maximilian Ponder is both deeply thoughtful and highly entertaining—and quite possibly my book of the year for 2025.
The overarching themes are memory and perception. How do we know our memories are true? Wouldn’t someone else remember the same events completely differently? Even looking at the same object, we might describe it in utterly different terms. Where do our memories live? Can they be retrieved once the brain stops working? While wading through these questions, the novel also asks whether our memories are even valuable. Max is horrified by the sheer amount we lose when someone dies: every bit of content in their mind gone forever. For him, our memories and perceptions make up the world; every fleeting thought is part of history. But if our thoughts are subjective and our memories unreliable, do they not give us a false history? And if we could extract every memory from every dying person, would the sheer overload render them useless?
The narrator—Adam Last—has spent his life assisting Max Ponder (the man on the table) with his colossal cataloguing project. He doesn’t share Max’s faith that future science will map the contents of our brains after death, yet still helps him stay completely isolated from society for over thirty years to record every thought from his life. Their friendship is the backbone of the novel, evolving from Adam’s initial incorporation into the Ponder family to Max’s utter dependence on him for everything, even in death. While the characters aren’t always easy to relate to, I couldn’t help loving them.
Despite its philosophical undercurrent, the tone is darkly comical. Ponder’s quirky writing made me chuckle more than once, and Adam’s grim task of dealing with the body is narrated with a dry, ironic detachment that made me smile. The Notable Brain of Maximilian Ponder is both deeply thoughtful and highly entertaining—and quite possibly my book of the year for 2025.
May 8, 2025
Artik 5 yildiz vermeyi azaltacagimi soylemistim fakat bu kitaba 4 yildiz yakismaz.. Anilarimizin bizi biz yapan seyler oldugu kesin, peki acaba yuzde kacimizi olustururlar? Anilarimiz gercekle ne kadar ortusur? Bildiklerimizin ne kadarini gercekten biliriz ve ne kadarini "hafiza odamiz" bizim icin tamamlar? Hayatini tum zihnini belgelemeye adamis Maximilian Ponder'in bir yandan uzerine dusundugu sorular bunlar. Ironmonger hafiza, zihin, olum gibi konularda Max ile birlikte dusunecegimiz, arkadasligin ne demek oldugunu ve bazi arkadasliklarin arkadasliktan ote oldugunu Max ve Adam ile hissedecegimiz enfes bir oyku yazmis. Benim icin okuma keyfini belki de en cok artiran sey ise; Ironmonger cok ama cok kusurlu, bir o kadar da sevilebilir bir karakter yazmis. Cok guzel bir hikaye.
August 4, 2024
I read it because it was on the reading list for the writing course I attended. I can't say it really captured my interest; it wouldn't have been my own choice. It's definitely an interesting concept, but the focus on that idea meant the characters lacked depth. The critical reflection on the background and African history is interesting, but what saddens me is that it's up to Westerners to criticize the West...
July 7, 2025
Benzersiz bir zihin laboratuvarı... 30 yıl boyunca anıları, her anı kaydetmek ya da kataloglamak mümkün mü? Okurken aklıma düşen soru "Hafıza gerçekten bize mi ait, yoksa sadece bir yanılgı mı?" Max'in hafızası ve tutuğu arşiv sadece onu değil, bizim zaman algımızla da uyguluyor. Katman katman açılan bir yolculuğun hikâyesi. Bir dostun zihninde kaybolmakla ona sadık kalmak arasındaki o ince çizgi, çok bir iz bırakıyor.
June 8, 2024
The intro invites a plethora of questions, but the journey of Max and his bestie - Adam - slowly unfolds between Africa and England. Ponder becomes a recluse tapping into his inner world, with past stories playing a key role until his death and instruction upon death. A very well written and funny read.
March 10, 2025
Ikili delilik dedikleri bu mudur? Hafıza, bellek, hatirlamak unutmak kavramlariyla hemhal eden bir degisik roman. Karakterimiz Max ilginc, arkadaşı daha da ilginc. Okuması cok keyifli, akıp giden bir roman.
November 14, 2019
A curiously unique ramble through the ebbing tide of philosophical subjective relativism.
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