Featured on The Book Show on Sky Arts on 22 April 2010.
The 'Unnamed' is the intriguing condition that afflicts Tim Farnsworth causing him to set off walking at unpredictable times, walking without any destination or desire to stop, until utter exhaustion stops him. How this effects him, his family and his work are all brought in to the mix. Why would a seemingly happy and successful man suddenly feel the need to just walk away from everything? Although sad and slightly disturbing this is a brilliant and moving novel about relationships and the everyday pressures of life. Very different from Ferris's first novel, Then We Came To The End, but equally enjoyable.
Tim Farnsworth is a handsome, healthy man, ageing with the grace of a matinee idol. He loves his work. He loves his family. He loves his kitchen. And then one day he stands up and walks out on all of it. He cannot stop walking. And, as his body propels him relentlessly forward, deep into the unfamiliar outer reaches of the city, he begins to realise he is moving further and further from his old self, seemingly unable to turn back and retrieve what he has lost. In his extraordinary novel Joshua Ferris delineates with great tenderness and a rare and inimitable wit the devastating story of a life taken for granted and what happens when that life is torn away without explanation or warning. The Unnamed is no less than a shimmering reflection of our times, of the lives we aspire to and the terrifying realisation of what is beyond our control.
Joshua Ferris was born in Illinois in 1974. He attended the University of Iowa and the University of California, Irvine. He now lives in Brooklyn, New York.
