This is definitely one of those books where I just want to say “go, read it, trust me, it’s amaaaaaaaayzing” and you say “okay” and you do and we talk and you’re all “that WAS amaaaaaaaayzing!” and “thanks for making me read it” and I’m all “you’re very welcome!” and that’s it.
But, alas, it just doesn’t work that way, does it? It would be so much easier, because I just know I’m going to have a hard time putting my love for this book into words.
I read this book because Fizzy Thoughts said Rebecca said it was like Waiting for Columbus and, if you remember, I loved Waiting for Columbus and so, well, I had to read The Unnamed if it was like Waiting for Columbus! Well, that and I had it in my small (yeah, right) “Read Soon” stack on my desk and I’m really trying to whittle this stack down a bit. And it just sounded so. good.
Tim Farnsworth, high powered attorney and loving father, husband, and all-round happy guy, walks. He walks when it’s cold. He walks when it’s hot. He walks out of his house in the middle of the night and out of his office during very important meetings. He walks without stopping, even as he bloodies his feet and gets frostbite on his fingers, he walks until he literally drops and falls asleep, no matter where he is. He has looked for help from some of the most brilliant medical experts around the world – and they can find nothing wrong with him. He’s had two previous bouts with this affliction and now, it’s back again and this time, it shows no sign of remission.
His wife Jane is supportive, doing everything she can to keep him safe during his walks. She packs a backpack with every survival thing he could possibly need. She makes midnight trips around town to pick him up. Yet this time, she begins to move away from Tim in her own way. As Tim’s disorder wrecks havoc upon their lives, the choices they make for each only drive them further apart. Can they find their way back to each other? Will Tim ever find a cure? Will he ever find the way to conquer his body with his mind?
There are so many themes at work in this novel. It’s a story of a marriage. It’s about commitment. It’s about of family and love. It’s about running away. It’s about hiding. It’s about of two people fighting against almost insurmountable odds to be together. It’s about a man’s fight to conquer his own body’s limitations. Ferris’s prose is remarkable in it’s minimalist style in that it evokes the desperation Tim and Jane feel as the walking takes over his body again and again. His writing is simple and beautiful.
“He would tell her anything, of course. Yes, of course he would tell her that he loved her and that the soul was vibrant and real and death only an interlude. His banana, how she had taken care of him. She had come to him in far-flung places no matter the time of day or night.”
I was moved to tears by the end. Big, snotty, crocodile tears. The Unnamed is heartbreaking. It’s grim. It is amazingly beautiful. It’s hard to put down. It poses questions about life, marriage, love, God, the mind, body, and spirit. It makes you think. Expect and assume nothing and your ride through these words will be unforgettable. As for being like Waiting for Columbus, they are both about men with mental illness. Waiting for Columbus is lighter, with its moments of humor and quirky characters. The Unnamed is the darker book by far, but both are marvelous, unforgettable reads. You should get and devour both. And like Fizzy said “Keep a hankie ready.”
For more about The Unnamed, visit the official website, enjoy this video of David Sedaris interviewing Joshua Ferris, and check out this interview with Ferris’s editor.
The Unnamed
Joshua Ferris
Category: Literary, Psychological Suspense
Published by Reagan Arthur Books, a division of Little, Brown
Format: Hardcover, 320 pages
On Sale: January 18, 2010
ISBN: 978-0316034012
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Personal copy obtained from the publisher. Who is brilliant. I can’t wait to read more from Reagan Arthur.
This is my first read for the Reagan Arthur Books challenge.
The Book Lady’s Blog | Hey Lady, Whatcha Reading? | Presenting Lenore | Fizzy Thoughts
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Tags: 2010, Book Reviews, Books, joshua ferris, reagan arthur books, the unnamed
When the books promise to be so good?
I’m reading a Reagan Arthur book right now. It is called The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris and let me tell. you. It is already a candidate for read of the year. And if all the other books are this good? Well. That means participants in the Reagan Arthur Books Challenge are in for an excellent reading year. Or years. Because you know what? This challenge does not end!
A little bit about Reagan Arthur:
Reagan Arthur Books is an imprint with a simple, single focus: great writing in the service of great stories. It will be a home for writers of literary novels, adventures, memoir, true narrative—a place where books aren’t separated by genre, but bound by a common love of language and storytelling. The authors on their list are some of the most talented and original writers at work today, from critically acclaimed and award-winning bestsellers to fresh-out-of-the-gate, dazzling newcomers. Their goal is to give readers what they want most: the unique and lasting pleasure of sitting alone with a good book, being moved and entertained and even changed forever.
Books out now include:
- The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris
- Marriage and Other Acts of Charity by Kate Braestrup
- Doors Open by Ian Rankin
And coming soon? Even more goodies!
- Black Hills by Dan Simmons
- Still Midnight by Denise Mina
- Next by James Hynes
- Sherman Alexie
- Kate Atkinson
- Josh Bazell
- The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton
- The Island by Elin Hilderbrand
- Caitlin Flanagan
- Kathleen Kent
- Field Maloney
- George Pelecanos
- Patterns of Paper Monsters by Emma Rathbone
- Frederick Reiken
- Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English by Natasha Solomons
- The Messenger of Athens by Anne Zouroudi
And if that doesn’t wet your whistle, well, the girls are giving away a prize pack of SIX BOOKS to one lucky reader who signs up before February 28th. So what are you waiting for? Go sigh up! Trust me, you won’t regret it.
As you may have heard by now, J. D. Salinger passed away last week. (Forgive me, I killed my computer and only resurrected it tonight, I’m a little behind.) As the reactions began to pour across Twitter, many book bloggers admitted (reluctantly, some) that they had never read The Catcher in the Rye. I AM one such person. I don’t think I’ve read any Salinger, but Catcher seems like one of those books everyone BUT me has read. But, luckily, no, I wasn’t the only one.
Which is why Amanda, Melissa, and Jackie at Farmlanebooks decided this would be the perfect time for a Catcher in the Rye read-a-long with Melissa hosting.
It’s going to be pretty easy-going. We’re planning on starting Sunday, February 14th and wrapping up around the end of the month. I’ll make sure there are posts after February 14th where you can leave your spoiler comments, questions, and discussion points.
I’m not going to do anything formal with signing up and all that, but if you’re interested in reading along with us — either for the first time or the 20th — please leave a comment and let us know!
But, actually, head over to Melissa’s post here to sign up. I hope you can join us!
(Oh, thank you to the amazing Jason for our lovely button.)
Tags: readalong, reading challenge, salinger
A couple of months ago, I got the loveliest pitch I have ever received. The author of the email had read my blog, loved it, and thought the book he represented would be a perfect fit for me. It was for this book, Mia the Magnificent. I was charmed. And boy, was he right. I’m only left wishing I had asked for the first two in the series, because I wasn’t ready to leave Mia’s world.
Mia is entering her sophomore year of high school at St. Hilary’s a new girl. She is meek no more (see, and I wish I knew WHY! Must get the other books…) but when her best friend Lisa finagles her a part in the school production of The Music Man she wonders just how meek she might still be. Her ex-boyfriend Tim is teaching her little brother, Chris, the wrong way to treat women and she can’t seem to get Tim to stop, or Chris to listen to her. And just learning to drive tests all her new-found unmeekness.
Turns out Mia still has a lot to learn about herself and her place in the world. Is she brave enough to take the stage in her first big musical production? Is she strong enough to save her brother Chris from treating women with disrespect and arrogance? And is she brave enough to forgive an immature guy who has maybe realized his mistakes and changed his ways?
Growing up is hard to do, but Mia is a clever girl who pulls it off with style, if not with a little bad singing, a few accidents, and a dog costumed prank or two. Best of all, she’s just as cute as can be. I really, really enjoyed this sweet novel and really want to read the earlier books in the series. Young girls everywhere will really enjoy Mia. I know I did.
Mia the Magnificent
Written by Eileen Boggess
Category: Young Adult, Middle Grades
Published by Bancroft Press
Format: Hardcover, 161 pages
On Sale: January 4, 2010
ISBN: 978-1890862671
I believe Amazon has this available for purchase, however I cannot link to it here because of the little known #AmazonFail of I CAN’T BE AN AMAZON ASSOCIATE because I LIVE IN NORTH CAROLINA. *grumble* IndieBound and The Book Depository do not have info on this book.
Personal copy obtained from the publisher. Thanks Harrison!
Other reviews by:
Cheryl’s Book Nook | MariReads | Melody’s Reading Corner | Carrie’s YA Bookshelf | Steph Bowe’s Hey! Teenager of the Year
I am a Book Depository and Indie Bound Affiliate and will make a very small profit if you buy a book through one of my links.
Tags: 2010, bancroft press, Book Reviews, Books, eileen boggess
So, uh, yeah. Have you read this book? Because I totally need someone to explain it to me. You see, I am on the very bottom of the Cool Pyramid y’all and I had LOADS of trouble understanding this book. Let me see if I can explain.
Okay, so, there’s this boy; Hunter. And Hunter meets this girl; Jen. Hunter is a COOL Hunter. And Jen is an Innovator. She is, like, at the top of the Cool Pyramid and Hunter is lower, because while Jen innovates cool, he only hunts it down. And sells it out. From the first, Hunter takes a picture of Jen’s shoelaces (YES shoelaces) because, apparently they are like, beYOND cool, and he sends it to his… well, I guess she’s like his Cool Pimp, Mandy who in turn gives it to The Client, which is a shoe company Hunter refuses to name because it’s a brand and he will not name brands for some reason. Maybe because it would date the book? No idea. So, anyway, there, right away, he’s selling Jen out. But, irregardless, Jen decides she likes Hunter and they hook up. It’s like the easiest hook up in my reading history. It’s like instant boyfriend/girlfriend.
So Hunter takes Jen to a Focus Group, where they are shown a new commercial for The Client. Everyone there likes it, except for Jen, who gives a brilliant, obvious critique and pretty much makes Mandy mad BUT Mandy hires her on as a Cool Hunter anyway. The three arrange to have a meeting the next morning. But Mandy never shows up. Concerned, especially after finding her phone (which is apparently her life!) lost on the floor of an abandoned warehouse, Hunter and Jen embark on a mission to find her, changing their lives in the process.
So, there is a lot of satire going on here. A lot of tongue-in-cheek-pokery at commercialism. And maybe it’s because I listened to the audio instead of reading it myself, but I found myself feeling a little bit lost somewhere around the middle. It speaks well of Scott Westerfeld’s writing that despite the feeling somewhat lost (PLEASE let it be the listening and not the fact that I am now 32!!!) I enjoyed the novel. There were times the anti-consumerist message felt heavy handed. And Westerfeld’s fondness for inventing new slang can get tiresome (like in the Uglies series). Yet the characters where interesting and I came to care about what happened to them. I particularly identified with Hunter, who often feels awkward and cynical and naive and vulnerable because obviously, even though I am now 32, I often feel that way myself. I really enjoyed Scott Brick’s narration, a new to me reader, who I will seek out more from. All in all, So Yesterday was an enjoyable experience.
But really, if you can explain the middle to me, the whole, uh… spoiler alert … Poo-Sham thing? I’d be much obliged. I must have missed something, because I just can’t figure out how that all tied in and I feel kinda dumb about that.
So Yesterday
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Read by: Scott Brick
Category: Fiction, Juvenile Fiction
Length: 6 hours 33 minutes (Paperback is 225 pages)
Published by Listening Library
Format: Audio Download complements of the NC Digital Library
On Sale: 01 September 2005
ISBN: 9781595140326
Purchase from The Book Depository | Purchase from IndieBound
Personal copy obtained through my local library, OKAY FTC?
Other reviews by:
Fyrefly’s Book Blog | bookshelves of doom | nineseveneight book reviews | The Zen Leaf | A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy |
I am a Book Depository and Indie Bound Affiliate and will make a very small profit if you buy a book through one of my links.
Tags: 2010, Book Reviews, Books, scott westerfeld
Thanks to the handy-dandy random number generator, the winners of a free book are…
Numbers 22 and 28, who were Andi and Vasilly ! Both chose Tales From Outer Suburbia, so congrats!! Thanks for playing everyone and I hope you enjoy the book girls! I’ll be mailing them out tomorrow.
First, yes, I changed my theme again. That last one just wasn’t quite cutting it for me. I think I’m happy with this one, so hopefully it will stick for awhile. Sorry if there is any confusion!
Now. What ARE we celebrating? Why, my birthday was last week my lovelies and this month marks my fifth year of book blogging! Yes, I posted my first review FIVE years ago this month! And what a lovely, fun ride it has been. So, to celebrate, I want to give you something. Well, maybe two of you. I’m not made of money you know.
There are five books that I loved so very, very, very much last year and I want to share one of them with you. I will pick a winner on January 31st, so get your entry in now! And, really, I only require the one entry. 
Thank you for reading with me all these years, especially the last two years. It’s been a blast. I love you guys and GOOD LUCK!
EDIT: I forgot to say, this is international; anyone can enter!!!
That girl. Always good for a laugh.
More Wordless Wednesday fun here.
Tags: Photos, wordless wednesday
There are a few books left over from last year that I didn’t manage to get reviewed. Unfortunately, Mare’s War, which was on my favorite reads of 2009 list, was one of them. I’m rectifying that situation right now.
There are a great many things I find fascinating. Family history. WWII history. Teenagers. (No really, they are!) And road trips, for a start.
Mare’s War features all of these, so there was no way I wasn’t going to love this book. And I did, I sooooo did.
Going on a road trip with their… unusual grandmother Mare is the last thing teens Tali and Octavia want to do with their summer. At the insistence of their mother, the girls reluctantly get in the car and take off to a mysterious family reunion on the other side of the country, in Alabama.
The girls, like most teenagers, don’t know how they will survive the trip with Mare. Before they have even left the driveway, their grandmother is getting on their nerves with her smoking and Mare is annoying with Tali constantly listening to music on her MP3 player. The two make a pact; Mare will not smoke if Tali will give up the music.
To make the time go faster, Mare begins telling the girls stories, stories of her younger years. The girls are astonished to hear about Mare’s youth in Alabama, about how she grew up during the Great Depression, the lengths she went to to protect her own sister and her differences with her mother. The biggest surprise of all is learning how Mare ran away from home to join the WAC (Women’s Army Corp) and served during World War II. Mare’s struggles at home with her mother and her mother’s abusive man make joining the army feel like a piece of cake. It gives her a safe place to live, three meals and day and gives her strength and a belief in herself that could never be bought.
Yet, even though the WAC gave immeasurable help to their country while fighting the Nazi’s in Europe, the segregation that Mare and all the other colored soldiers in the 6888th Battalion, Company C, face is much harder to defeat. Mare’s tough spirit and pride in her Company and all the women she served with remain with her and become a huge part of who she is. After all she’s been through, is it any wonder she thinks Tali and Octavia are a little bit spoiled?
The girls are fascinated. Who knew their grandmother had done such amazing things? Mare’s stories are eye-opening to say the least. By the end of their trip, the three have grown closer and the girls have a new respect for Mare – and Mare for them.
Tanita S. Davis has written a thoughtful, powerful tale about women, African-Americans, and the struggles they have faced in, not only the racist past, but in the still racist present we live in now. Not only that, but it fills in a blank part of all American’s history of World War II, the brave way the women of the 6888th Battalion, Company C, helped end World War II. And it’s powerful message of family, of history, of knowing your place in the world and the sacrifices of those who came before us, help shape every reader’s perception of themselves. I hate to admit that I knew next to nothing about the 6888th Battalion, Company C, so I was so happy to learn more about these amazing women. It’s a shame that their story has been so hugely lost to history and many props to Ms. Davis for bringing their story back to the light. This is a book everyone woman, no matter their color, should read.
As for whether a teenager will sit through a book about history, I love what Liz B at A Chair, A Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy has to say about that:
Oh, and if you have teens who you know will like this book but may be turned off by the history, because some teenagers eyes glaze over when you say “and it’s about women soldiers in World War II!” Simply say, “and then Mare went after her mother’s boyfriend with a hatchet.” Imagine hearing THAT about your grandma.
Not to mention Tali and Octavia do a lot of growing up during the course of their road-trip. Octavia especially, a quiet, shy girl, learns to find courage within herself and that is always fun to read. And the dynamic between the two girls, typical sisters, friends and fighters, is well written and felt true to life.
Mare is one tough grandma and I couldn’t help but come to adore her (and the girls!) over the course of this book and is definitely why this was one of my favorite reads last year.
Mare’s War
Written by: Tanita S. Davis
Category: Young Adult
Published by Random House Children’s Books
Format: Hardcover, 352 pages
On Sale: June 2009
ISBN: 9780375857140
Other Links:
Other Opinions:
Colleen Mondor’s Bookslut in Training review | Reading in Color | The Happy Nappy Bookseller | Jen Robinson’s Book Page review | Reading Rants! | Charlotte’s Library | The Reading Zone | everything distils into reading | A Patchwork of Books |
Purchase from The Book Depository | Purchase from IndieBound
Hey nosy FTC; I got it from the library. Okay?
I am a Book Depository and Indie Bound Affiliate and will make a very small profit if you buy a book through one of my links.
Tags: 2010, Book Reviews, Books, historical fiction, tanita s. davis, young adult
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