Friday, November 19, 2010

The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris

Could a well respected man, a lawyer with a wife and child literally get up one day and walk away?The Unnamed      tLiterary Blog HopI don't mean a  baby-I-found-someone else type of walking away . Could he have a "disease"
that would force him to walk against his will? Could he have this condition that doctors can't even explain?One that's not a mental issue?  Ok that last question was a bit of a stretch but go with me here.  On the surface of the story it seems plausible ....at first.,but it's the wife's reaction  to the situation ,the willingness to pick him up at all hours of the night,the moments of debating on whether or not to stay or get out while she can,it's all these things that pull you in and convince you that it's really happening.By the time I am thoroughly convinced it is some illness I've never heard of before  the story takes a turn  in the last 1/4 of the book.That
and the indeterminate ending left me etertained but a little unsatisfied.  The writer's style is rhythmic,engaging,and  thought provoking.  I would have no problem giving this book 4out of 5 stars.
I would like to thank the Hatchette Book Group for allowing me the opportunity to review the book and no I
don't get money to do so .  If you are coming from Chrissie's corner or the Literary Hop then Hello and please leave a comment so I can visit you today.

The question from the Literary Hop was "Can a nonfiction work be literary? If so how do you define it?
Funny that they asked this question because the book I am currently reading"Running the Books"by Avi Steinberg this definitely fits the category.    It's a memoir he started out writing features for the Boston Globe,
then writing obituaries and eventually a prison librarian(which ironically had better benefits!).  He has a good use of imagery that you would normally find in a work of fiction and for me that is what would make it literary.
(You can post links to your book blog,review, memes etcc. in the post below this one.)

New Location

If you have made it here then I want to direct you to my newer improved blog over on wordpress ( New blog .) I just want to thank you guys f...