Max: A novel

by Howard Fast

Book by Fast, Howard

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, New York, Historical, Ebooks, Novels

581 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Howard Fast was one of the most prolific American writers of the twentieth century. He was a bestselling author of more than eighty works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and screenplays. The son of immigrants, Fast grew up in New York City and published his first novel upon finishing high school in 1933. In 1950, his refusal to provide the United States Congress with a list of possible Communist associates earned him a three-month prison sentence. During his incarceration, Fast wrote one of his best-known novels, Spartacus (1951). Throughout his long career, Fast matched his commitment to championing social justice in his writing with a deft, lively storytelling style.

Pseudonyms: Walter Ericson, E.V. Cunningham

Reviews

[Chana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fictional story of a Jewish kid, child of immigrants, who grows up in Brooklyn's lower east side slums. He is the oldest of the children and when his father dies when he is twelve, he takes over the responsibility for keeping the family alive. He starts out selling bagels and coffee, then starts selling theater tickets. Later he acts in the music halls and then starts his own Nickelodeon theaters. He is clever, he makes money, and he loves the idea of moving pictures. He makes it all the way to millions of dollars, a big studio in the Los Angeles area and the beginning of the talking movies which was in 1927.
Sadly, he was never appreciated by his family. His mother is a terrible character, written in such a gross stereotypical fashion that towards the end I just skipped the scenes that had her in them.
His whole family was just a mess of Jewish stereotypes and it made for unpleasant reading. His brothers were thieves, two sisters married worthless bums, one sister was a spinster, the mother was a shrew. Most of them couldn't get enough money and never contributed. Max was the only one who made money, was generous and liked to help people. The people he should have been able to trust betray him for complicated reasons of their own. It would have been disturbing and upsetting if it wasn't fictional.
As a book it was kind of long-winded and, well me being me, I would have preferred to read histories and biographies of the real people who made those early moving pictures.

[Robert Paul Olsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a visionary this Max Britsky was and his life in the slums of downtown NYC, leading to his rise to fame in the motion picture industry. His life though was filled with many bumps in the road and happiness was not his to hold. Howard is a great storyteller though bringing the life of the Britsky's together in fine fashion. Happy it's not, interesting is what we have here....

[Paula Galvan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Max Brisky, born in 1879, grew up on Henry Street, located in the East Side ghetto of New York. Already poor, Max, who lived in a tiny two-bedroom railroad flat with his five brothers and sisters, was left penniless at twelve years old when his father dropped dead of a heart attack at the age of forty. Max immediately dropped out of school and became the family's breadwinner. Starting as a vaudeville act in the Bijou Theatre, Max became fascinated with the kinetoscope, a new attraction shown in penny arcades. With an inventive and ambitious nature, Max was soon drawn to the latest fad, moving pictures.

Through Max's challenging climb to success, the story traces the fascinating history of the motion picture industry and the golden age of Hollywood. Max Brisky becomes one of the first to own and operate an all-inclusive movie studio, complete with sound stages, backlots for shooting pictures, and other production facilities needed to film and produce movies. Although hailed as one of the field's successful pioneers and a brilliant businessman willing to take huge risks, Max is plagued by conniving rivals and envious relatives. I found Max's well-written story rich with the history of America's first immigrants and their contributions to improving the country. I also enjoyed the fascinating details about the beginnings of the motion picture industry, such as the fact that it started in New York, not in Hollywood.

The only downside to this book for me was the portrayal of Max's mother, Sarah. She is an incredibly depressing and unpleasant character. I understand that experiencing the hardships of immigrating to a new country and dealing with poverty can be overwhelming. Still, Sarah fails to show any gratitude for her son's unwavering support. Aside from her, there are many other interesting characters, both lovable and detestable. Overall, I found this book to be highly entertaining.

[James Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s an undercurrent of melancholy running through this book, particularly in the final half when you see the house of cards slowly being built and you’re just waiting for something to knock it over. Fast doesn’t hit you over the head with the sadness—he writes Max in a series of vignettes without much interiority—but you sense it in moments where he can’t connect with his long separated kids, raised by an ex-wife who despises him, and knows that he’ll never have any real relationship with them. You sense it in his relations with his nuclear family, who depended on Max for support when he was a child himself and are too spoiled to help themselves. Originally, I thought this would be a “Citizen Kane”-esque novel about a man who becomes corrupted by the wealth and power he accumulates. Instead Max is a novel about a man who came from nothing, put his heart and soul in a business, recognized those who helped him along the way and remained loyal until the end. He’s as decent a businessman as anyone can be under capitalism and what does it get him? Nothing. He ends up alone. Max Britsky is a complicated man, and Howard Fast makes a risky decision to never fully come down too hard on him one way or another. He’s neither saint nor sinner, just a man. Despite his millions.

[Ted Myers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this historical novel about the evolution of the motion picture business. At the end of the nineteenth century, Max Britsky lives in a small tenement apartment on New York's lower east side. His father dies when he is twelve. The eldest of five siblings, he takes on the burden of supporting his family. He is clever and manipulative, and ultimately he becomes more and more successful in the entertainment business, which, in his world, consists of vaudeville houses and ten-minute silent moving pictures, viewed in nickelodeons. He always seems to see the next big thing with uneducated prescience. By the time he is in his twenties, he is a millionaire. After conquering the theater scene in New York, he ventures out to California, to an unpaved dirt road town called Hollywood. There, along with a handful of other budding moguls, he starts a major studio.

Howard Fast was a very prolific novelist and wrote, much like I do, in common, unadorned English. I did not learn any writing craft from Fast, but thoroughly enjoyed this entertaining yarn. Highly recommended for cinephiles like myself and those seeking a historically accurate peek into the past.

[BLRBrazil · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can see why Howard Fast is a popular author (though I didn't realise till now just how prolific he was) - he certainly knows how to spin a yarn.
What made this book particularly interesting is that it effectively traces the development of the cinema in the USA. For that reason I'm holding onto my copy.
It also prompted me to read "Second Generation", another enjoyable read that tempts me to want to read more about the Lavettes, even though I won't be keeping this one.
I see some readers complain about lack of character development in Fast's books. Having read 2 makes me no expert, but he clearly places his energy into telling the story and one gets to know the characters through insights into their thinking and the choices they make. I'd also say that, while he doesn't moralise, these 2 books definitely show that in life it's all about 'how you play the game' (contrary to the popular myth of winners and losers). What happens to you is less important than how you react to it and treat others. That tends to be the true measure of success, not the accumulation of material wealth.

[Mirachil27 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally Absorbing

While reading this book, I thought about how thrilling it must have been to be there at the birth of motion pictures, and later, with the miraculous advent of sound in the movies. Max Britsky was there through the whole thing; his excitement was contagious. What a visionary! I marveled at his ingenious ideas about things that had never been done before. His camera techie, Snyder, was another genius, taking what he had learned at Edison's labs and moving beyond to create many of the staples of movie camera and sound equipment out of his fertile mind. Mac's lawyer, Feldman, proved a true blue friend until the end. What a team. What an empire they created. The other people around Max, his family, his wife, his children and the ruthless powers surrounding him, envious of his success, did everything they could to rob him blind and finally to destroy him. Fast's novel carries you along the rollercoaster of these pioneers of the fledgling industry. If you love movies and the history of film, you must read this book!

[Sherry Rosenberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Howard Fast's Immigrant series were on my top 10 of all time. I enjoyed Max but wouldn't classify it as one of his best. Max is the story of the man who produces the first motion pictures. I couldn't seem to find which producer this was modeled after. The first half of the book went very quickly as we meet 12 year old Max who becomes the head of the large family after his father's death. He is a brilliant, quick-thinking and driven young man who is already like an old man in many ways. As an adult he's exceptionally generous but not necessarily a lovable person yet not one you would dislike either. His horrible and unappreciative mother could have turned him into something far worse. There are few really likeable characters in the book, especially his very weak wife Sally. No time or industry seems to be without payoffs and we see plenty of that here. The second half of the book went into too much detail. Overall, it was an interesting story and one I wish my book club would have done just so I could further discuss the many characters and especially the ending. This novel has made me curious as to the beginning of motion pictures and movie theaters.

[Mbuye · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘Max,’ published in 1982 is a rags-to-riches-to-rags story about the birth of the movie industry. Others have written on the same theme, with almost the same story, notably Budd Schulberg (‘What Makes Sammy Run?’) and Harold Robbins (‘A Stone for Danny Fisher.’) Howard Fast’s sense of history is what makes this subtly different. From meetings with George Eastman to the invention of chafing dishes to Tammany Hall politics, Fast recaptures the excitement of the coming century in the career of an enterprising boy who, even at the age of twelve, recognises and shoulders responsibilities that men of thirty might crumble under. Success has its own price tag, and ultimately the price that is required for responsibility, ambition and success is failure in family affection and loyalty. I found the middle very tedious as the leeches latched on.

[Jorge_1978 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Se trata de una novela muy clásica, de carácter naturalista, sobre el ascenso social de un hombre hecho a si mismo. El protagonista, surge del estrato más bajo de la sociedad. Sin embargo, esta dotado de una tenacidad y una voracidad implacables. Se alza, por su talento, como magnate de la primera industria cinematografía en el albur del siglo XX. Lamentablemente en su nuevo estrato no alcanza la calma. Esto se debe a ciertas características personales que le siguen connotando como una persona surgida del proletariado. Estas son debidas a las dificultades que ha sufrido en su mas tierna juventud, su falta de educación, a su falta de domino del lenguaje y a su familia. En suma una novela un tanto épica ambientada en el muy atractivo ambiente del inicio de la industria cinematográfica.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hooray for Hollywood

Through the Depression years, my parents, always cash-strapped, found enough to take us to the movies every week without fail. Films competed with school in my education, and was far more fun. I was sad to see TV begin to eclipse movies and I still resent the interruptions of story for endless commercials! You can bet Streaming will follow suit. Max is, of course, a composite of all the studio heads who came to Hollywood to create an industry bigger than any other at that time. It still thrives employing generations of craftsman who support their families in what is still called Hollywood.

[Frank Settineri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Howard Fast is one of my favorite authors. His stories are filled with greed, deception, fraud, personal vendettas and dispassionate passion (if that makes sense). Max follows the life of a destitute boy who arises from the ghettos of early 20th century New York to become one of the most famous (and fictitious) Hollywood moguls. As I was reading it I couldn't stop thinking that perhaps Max was Cecil B. DeMille, and his rise to fame and glory. This book was spellbinding.

[Ericathom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Έπεσε στα χέρια μου κατά τύχη. Ήθελα να διαβάσω Howard Fast γιατί δεν είχε ξανατύχει. Μου άφησε ανάμεικτα συναισθήματα. Και μ' άρεσε και δε μ' άρεσε. Αφορά ουσιαστικά την γέννηση του κινηματογράφου στην Αμερική. Διαδραματιζεται σε μια περίοδο που εμένα μ αφήνει λίγο αδιάφορη και τελικά με έκανε να βρω όλο το βιβλίο ξεπερασμένο αν και πολύ καλογραμμένο.

[Gwenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was interesting to read about the film industry. strange that the novel decided to give all credit for everything to one company. I liked the story. the main character definitiely had his faults. the biggest was that he would make the final choice he did - what a waste, but did he stay tru to his own character?

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly good.
Fast ascribes to his leading character the achievements of several different real-life early film pioneers, but hey themselves were so unbelievably fertile of imagination and energy, that combining their real accomplishments in the fictional Max is not really a stretch of the imagination for the reader.

[Larry Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story - Weak Ending

I was thoroughly engaged with this story. It offered a nice mix of real history and sense of time. Without giving any spoilers though I really felt that the ending seemed rushed and unsatisfying.

[Michael Evnin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Very Good Read

Moves right along in an enthralling manner. One wonders how the legendary movie moguls did what they did. This novel gives a plausible and entertaining explanation.

[Nancy NH · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked the first half of the novel - the struggles Max went through to achieve his dream. Then the story unravels a bit as he faces challenges that he never would have expected. All about the early days of "moving pictures".

[Nicolas RAUDIN · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful life of a self made man.
A dit that the end is not of much interess in comparaison with all the test of the story

[Nathan Steller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really amazing story about the rise of the movie industry..stuff I never really thought about until I read this..hope to find an audio version one day.

[Bob Box · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in 1983. A young man leaves New York to find success in early Hollywood.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unexpected page turner from the very beginning

Howard Fast captivates you with his writing style. The story is a witty one that paints a picture of life for an immigrant family.

[Karen Liebig · Rating 2 out of 5]

Much longer than it needed to be, especially the California years. The "big climax" was drawn out, so the ending felt weak.

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I’ve read this story before. Young 12-year-old boy from dirt poor family living in New York City in the late 1800’s rises to become the most successful Hollywood producer throughout the early 20th century. Yes, it’s a common story told by many well-known authors but there is still something about that era, both in terms of New York and in terms of the beginnings of the motion picture business that intrigues me. Such interesting times!

Young Max Brotsky’s father dies when Max is only 12 years old. He’s the oldest of 6 children and feels compelled to be the provider for the family. By sheer force of will, determination and plain old hard work he squeezes out just enough money to keep them alive, despite his useless mother and bigoted response to his Jewish heritage. Later, at the age of 18, Max sees Edison’s new invention which allows the illusion of a picture to “move”, and he recognizes the amazing potential of a whole new industry. The novel tracks his progress through the years and we witness the birth of each new advancement in what was soon to be the motion picture business. Max builds an empire of theaters in New York, starts his own production company to meet the demand, and struggles with the politics of building such a business. Eventually max leads the charge to California and helps launch the early Hollywood and the introduction of sound to movie making. Along the way Max struggles with his personal life and marriage and ultimately, the control of his empire.

Overall, this was an interesting novel, but not always “enjoyable” to read. Part of that is due to the style of when it was written, I suppose, but more importantly, it is due to the nature of the lead character. Max is a genius and, often, people like that can be aggravating. They can be so intelligent in some of their choices and so stupid in other ways. In general, Max’s character never really changed. From the time he was 12 years old, he was basically an entrepreneurial adult…not up until the last 5 pages or so when his outlook on life took a complete 180 degree turn. I’m not saying that can’t be realistic…just aggravating. And so the overall read was sometimes aggravating as well. But, looking back I would recommend this novel, especially to those who are interested in the early days of the movie industry in America.

[Antony Castellano]

Here, in a marvelously gripping and rewarding novel, is the story of the tycoons who created and built the motion picture industry -- not in Hollywood, but in New York City at the turn of the century. — In particular, it is the story of Max Britsky -- born in the East Side ghetto of New York, penniless -- and of his struggle to survive and to conquer the world he had entered. It is also the story of the woman he married, of love and hate and fraud and financial piracy and infighting, of loyalty and betrayal.

In other words, it is just the kind of tale you would expect from one of the master storytellers of our time. It is not a book to be put down easily. Once you enter the world of New York at the turn of the century, the world of Rector's and Delmonico's and Boss Murphy of Tamany Hall and Monk Eastman, that king of hoodlums, you will partake of a wonderfully rewarding feast.

And you will welcome Max Britsky into the world of literary immortals. Like Dan Lavette of San Francisco, Max Britsky is a man for all seasons, and you will live with him, laugh with him, and weep with him.

The story told in this novel, the story of the creation of the film industry, an industry that changed the world, has never been told in fiction. It is one of the great stories of the twentieth century, narrated here by a man who is one of the most widely read novelists of the twentieth century. We think it is the best, the most fulfilled, of all Howard Fast's novels.(

[Graceann · Rating 3 out of 5]

The conceit of "Max," is that he was present at the very beginning, and perhaps a step ahead, of the movie industry. Starting with a storefront nickelodeon, Max keeps moving onward and upward, keeping some friends and losing many others.

Howard Fast's books are usually more satisfying than this, and books about Hollywood usually have more of a zing, as well. This one throws in a name or two here and there in order for us to know that we are reading a "Hollywood" story, but that's about the only nod to the setting. The characters, too, have motivations that are not sketched well, and even Max comes perilously close to being created of cardboard. At least it was a quick read, but that's hardly a ringing endorsement.

[Lin S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I never warmed up to the characters in this story. Max was unlikeable. Even when he took on the duty of taking care of his mother and his siblings after his fathers death. I think he resented having to do this his whole life and it molded his personality. His wife, mother, friends and partners....mostly all unhappy and miserable. Glad to have made it to the final page.

[Armin · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's done, a very poor book, the Author is a minor talent with no skills. Dont' think I will read anothr book by Howard Fast. the last 70 pages are somehow better than the rest, saves this one from a one-star-rating but Howard Fast is from now on a prominent Member of my black list-

[Cws]

F FAs

[Cindy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of Hollywood History. I didn't like Max much. He was just greedy.