- Hardcover: 313 pages
- Publisher: Reagan Arthur Books; 1 edition (18 Jan 2010)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0316034010
- ISBN-13: 978-0316034012
- Product Dimensions: 15.9 x 2.9 x 24.1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 756,793 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Unnamed
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a great book for walkers, but in a rather perverse way. Not for lawyer Tim (the main focus of the book), a gentle stroll through quiet countryside, but rather a compulsive need to take-off, in an OCD type of way, a driven emigration from family, work and comfort into the snowy outer wastes of the city, however inadequately dressed, whatever the time of day and night.
Tim walks until he is exhausted and then gets found among the rubbish bins behind a Safeway, or knocks on someone's door asking for help. He phones home and begs his wife to come out and save him, but has no idea where he is. Telephoning the emergency services for help is pointless when you can't give your location. This it a terrible and unique affliction which confounds doctors and specialists and could easily lead Tim to his death.
Tim doesn't know why he is possessed of this dangerous ailment. He gets found miles from home and later a toe drops off from frost-bite. His ambulatory episodes threaten his family life, his job and his mental stability. His compulsion becomes life-threatening: he takes off without food or water, without money, and soon his wife makes him wear a rucksack all the time containing basic provisions. The hiking boots and two pairs of socks do not look good in the law office.
Ferris is brilliant at describing the corporate consternation which his affliction causes in his office. Tim seems to have a very high embarrassment threshold and somehow fails to realise that his problems just don't fit into the environment of a firm of prestigious lawyers. Poor Tim has hard lessons to learn and Ferris makes his readers cringe with embarrassment at Tim's very public decline. Anyone who has ever taken a part in office life will remember how status changes are so carefully monitored by colleagues - the way someone is moved from his own office to open-plan, the way an older, experienced person ends up working for someone young and up-coming.
It would be a shame to reveal any more about this book - it would be just too easy to spoil. After all, a theme as unique as this should be unpacked slowly one step at a time, something at which Joshua Ferris excels. I found this book drew me on through Tim's tragedy and there are many unique aspects to it which I haven't mentioned in this review.
This book is genuinely novel - I can't think of anything quite like it, and I think its definitely better than Ferris' previous novel, Then We Came to the End: a Novel which was much liked by most reviewers but not by me. Its themes resonate well in a world of strange compulsions and phobias and in a way Tim's need to walk is something many people feel about getting out of their work-lives and heading off into the unknown. Alas, the world he finds himself in is a dark and dangerous place and most people would feel its better to stay inside in the warm, even when the corporate stuff just seems too much to take.
Tim walks until he is exhausted and then gets found among the rubbish bins behind a Safeway, or knocks on someone's door asking for help. He phones home and begs his wife to come out and save him, but has no idea where he is. Telephoning the emergency services for help is pointless when you can't give your location. This it a terrible and unique affliction which confounds doctors and specialists and could easily lead Tim to his death.
Tim doesn't know why he is possessed of this dangerous ailment. He gets found miles from home and later a toe drops off from frost-bite. His ambulatory episodes threaten his family life, his job and his mental stability. His compulsion becomes life-threatening: he takes off without food or water, without money, and soon his wife makes him wear a rucksack all the time containing basic provisions. The hiking boots and two pairs of socks do not look good in the law office.
Ferris is brilliant at describing the corporate consternation which his affliction causes in his office. Tim seems to have a very high embarrassment threshold and somehow fails to realise that his problems just don't fit into the environment of a firm of prestigious lawyers. Poor Tim has hard lessons to learn and Ferris makes his readers cringe with embarrassment at Tim's very public decline. Anyone who has ever taken a part in office life will remember how status changes are so carefully monitored by colleagues - the way someone is moved from his own office to open-plan, the way an older, experienced person ends up working for someone young and up-coming.
It would be a shame to reveal any more about this book - it would be just too easy to spoil. After all, a theme as unique as this should be unpacked slowly one step at a time, something at which Joshua Ferris excels. I found this book drew me on through Tim's tragedy and there are many unique aspects to it which I haven't mentioned in this review.
This book is genuinely novel - I can't think of anything quite like it, and I think its definitely better than Ferris' previous novel, Then We Came to the End: a Novel which was much liked by most reviewers but not by me. Its themes resonate well in a world of strange compulsions and phobias and in a way Tim's need to walk is something many people feel about getting out of their work-lives and heading off into the unknown. Alas, the world he finds himself in is a dark and dangerous place and most people would feel its better to stay inside in the warm, even when the corporate stuff just seems too much to take.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
A mysterious illness takes over the life of Tim Farnsworth, a successful New York lawyer. Inexplicably, for no apparent reason, he needs to... walk. Walk, walk, walk. For miles and miles. Without stopping. No matter what. A comfortable life taken for granted, a lovely, devout wife, a rebellious but deep-down sweet teenage daughter, a beautiful house in the suburbs, the trust and respect of his working associates, all is at stake for the unnamed condition which is disrupting Tim's and everyone's life and baffling doctors.
This is a disquieting novel. Indeed, a most unusual subject. I can relate to the feelings of frustration reflected in some reviews, it IS a frustrating book to some degree and quite depressing. I think however that frustration and powerlessness are exactly what the writer wants to convey. Some desolate, terrifying condition that would force anyone to face life when "something" beyond control takes over, and come to terms with "it".
I have the British print of this book. Some of the comments & praises by major newspapers utilise the adjective "funny" among others. Well, I think there is absolutely nothing "funny" about this book. If some situations border the ridiculous, it is because they befit the circumstances and the narrative. Nothing to smile about. On the other hand, there is definitely something to weep for. I think the author did a brilliant job conveying the tenderness and sense of desperation of his characters. The inner fights, the sense of abandonment, even some more hopeful, more uplifting situations, it is all described beautifully, the narrative... walks flawlessly, in a contorted path that eventually comes to an epilogue. Getting to the last page of the book was a relief I must admit, but it has been, in my opinion, a true page-turner. I would definitely recommend this book. Well done to the author.
This is a disquieting novel. Indeed, a most unusual subject. I can relate to the feelings of frustration reflected in some reviews, it IS a frustrating book to some degree and quite depressing. I think however that frustration and powerlessness are exactly what the writer wants to convey. Some desolate, terrifying condition that would force anyone to face life when "something" beyond control takes over, and come to terms with "it".
I have the British print of this book. Some of the comments & praises by major newspapers utilise the adjective "funny" among others. Well, I think there is absolutely nothing "funny" about this book. If some situations border the ridiculous, it is because they befit the circumstances and the narrative. Nothing to smile about. On the other hand, there is definitely something to weep for. I think the author did a brilliant job conveying the tenderness and sense of desperation of his characters. The inner fights, the sense of abandonment, even some more hopeful, more uplifting situations, it is all described beautifully, the narrative... walks flawlessly, in a contorted path that eventually comes to an epilogue. Getting to the last page of the book was a relief I must admit, but it has been, in my opinion, a true page-turner. I would definitely recommend this book. Well done to the author.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a powerful and disturbing novel but don't let that put you off because it's far more than one man's battle with his demons. The author succeeds in portraying an imaginative parable depicting the reverse side of the American dream. It is a beautifully written story that conveys the antithesis to the more superficial aspects of contemporary American culture by examining the nightmare consequences of an aspirational lifestyle. The central character,Tim, appears to have it all. He is a successful lawyer with all the trappings that go with his achievements,including a loving and supportive family.
So what are the reasons for Tim's inner turmoil? Why is he living with a psychologically dysfunctional mind that is so extreme it is also destroying his physical state? Ferris uses the analogies of cancer and addiction to describe the unnamed condition in the book's title and gives a moving account of how social and corporate stress can trigger serious psychotic symptoms.
This is a novel that stimulates thought which even now, two months afterwords, has a powerful presence. Yet,despite the dark and intense theme,Ferris brilliantly entertains with some very funny comic absurdities (which reminded me of Howard Jacobson's work), a romantic love story, and a crime mystery that all add weight to the story.
There are times during my reading this story that I felt the writing was weighed down with too much intense description but to balance this potential flaw Ferris cleverly picks up the story with some rapid changes of pace adding drama to the narrative. I also felt he had more to give by way of giving other characters greater depth as counterpoints to Tim's story and could also have developed more interest by additional social and cultural references,anecdotes,back stories,etc.
I thought his previous book was promising and this one,for me, is even better and as a young author he surely has the potential to produce a great novel in the future.
So what are the reasons for Tim's inner turmoil? Why is he living with a psychologically dysfunctional mind that is so extreme it is also destroying his physical state? Ferris uses the analogies of cancer and addiction to describe the unnamed condition in the book's title and gives a moving account of how social and corporate stress can trigger serious psychotic symptoms.
This is a novel that stimulates thought which even now, two months afterwords, has a powerful presence. Yet,despite the dark and intense theme,Ferris brilliantly entertains with some very funny comic absurdities (which reminded me of Howard Jacobson's work), a romantic love story, and a crime mystery that all add weight to the story.
There are times during my reading this story that I felt the writing was weighed down with too much intense description but to balance this potential flaw Ferris cleverly picks up the story with some rapid changes of pace adding drama to the narrative. I also felt he had more to give by way of giving other characters greater depth as counterpoints to Tim's story and could also have developed more interest by additional social and cultural references,anecdotes,back stories,etc.
I thought his previous book was promising and this one,for me, is even better and as a young author he surely has the potential to produce a great novel in the future.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Depressing
Just -almost- finished reading this book and had to give up with a couple of pages to go - it was just too depressing to finish. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Seán Mc Gurk
Ferris Doesn't Put a Foot Wrong
Second novels run the risk of being a bit of a let down - especially, as is the case with Joshua Ferris his debut offering was so good. Not in this case. Read more
Published 11 months ago by N. B. Werner
Fascinating story
Really liked the premise of this story - how troubling it is to have a condition of some sort which has no name. I am sure many undiagnosed people will relate to it. Read more
Published 12 months ago by judith
Gripping
I found the story captivating and what I feel shows the true power of the story is that it stayed with me afterwards, still provoking thought and emotion.
Published 15 months ago by KRK
Magnificently written piece of literature
The extent to which this book drew me in was incredible; I had picked it up whilst travelling and was constantly looking forward to being sat on a train or a plain for a few hours... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Winston Craysimon
Misstep
Joshua Ferris is a good writer and I'm sure he will go on to write something great, but this is a minor work. Read more
Published on 22 Feb 2010 by Mooch
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