The Unnamed (2010) (edit title/settings)

• Rated 3 stars

“unique story, struggled towards to end to finish, kodos for not whimping out at the end”

• Rated 4 stars

“much better than his first...”

• Rated 5 stars

“ wow, I'm gonna have to disagree with the critics on this one, mental illness drives family man to walk uncontrollably, very sad-but I love sad”

• Rated 4 stars

“I loved this book. There aren't many books that move me to tears, but this was one of them. Such a great story from such a simple premise.”

• Rated 3 stars

“I'd give this three-and-a-half if that were an option. I liked the characters and was interested in Tim's situation, but the style of the writing changes frequently, and the parts just don't fit together as well as I imagine they might have. ”

• Rated 4 stars

“A harrowing read, but I'm glad I read it. As a novel, it asks a lot of questions about man's nature [and body/soul dualism] and his limitations. There's so much to think about in this. However, there's also some very human plots and subplots going on it in it at the same time. I haven't cried so hard over a novel in a long time. I think I will re-read it, but I need to wait a while first.”

• Rated 3 stars

“This book is not nearly as good as Ferris's fantastic first novel, And Then We Came to the End, but it is quite good in its own haunting way. The main character is afflicted with a compulsion to walk--walk for miles and miles at any time and in any direction. His walking sickness naturally causes rifts in his marriage and his job as an attorney. The character is never diagnosed (ar rather is diagnosed hundreds of times, with no relief or answers given) and the reader is left to wonder if his walking is a mental illness or a real physical problem--as he insists. In any case, it seems to serve as a metaphor--but for what? I confess, I never could quite identify what message the author was intending with this work. The writing is lovely, though, and the plot is certainly inventive. It is worth a read.”

• Rated 3 stars

“This book was almost a four star book for me - Good book, very interesting plot, and a very good ending.

3 1/2 stars”

• Rated 0 stars

“The reviews have been mixed on this novel of a successful lawyer, Tim Farnsworth, who has bouts of a mysterious "walking disease". Medical science has no name for it, and Tim is convinced it is not psychological, but a physical need in him that compels him to walk to the point of exhaustion. The condition and his workaholic habits distance him from his wife and teenage daughter. Is this a story about the sickness of our society? One reviewer said "The Unnamed also points out how our busy lives have left us unable to experience the moment. " The tone of the book is decidedly glum, and at the end of the novel I was no wiser about the nature of the disease and whether Tim's life had progressed in any way. The only characters I empathized with was the daughter, who suffered because of her father's illness.”

• Rated 3 stars

“The first half is almost compulsively readable. The author takes off without pomp and circumstance, and he doesn’t feel the need to exhaustively explain what’s happening – he’s confident that it will unfold in his tale, and it does. I kept turning pages to find out what the heck was going on.

It’s a perfect book club discussion book. You could talk about this book and various symbols that come up in the reading for hours.

The second half of the book goes crazy as the main character’s mind starts to go a little… well, crazy. There is a murder mystery of sorts that never really goes anywhere; it just feels as if it’s an idea that’s thrown in as a point of interest, but it comes across as a half-hearted attempt at a subplot. ”