Tim Farnsworth is apparently the victim of a strange malady, part narcolepsy, part something else entirely, something which seems to be unknown in the annals of medicine to date: an inexplicable and completely irresistible, uncontrollable compulsion to walk. When an “attack” begins, it can last for days, or months, for miles and miles, even from one State to another, until his legs can no longer move. Then and only then can he stop moving, usually to fall where he stands into an exhausted sleep, only to start walking endlessly again upon waking. If in mid-winter, he may be dressed only in jacket and slacks, although he is sometimes moved to discard even these, proceeding barefoot and clad only in his boxer shorts, and continue on as far and as long as his legs just keep carrying him forward. A strange affliction, to be sure. And an unusual book.
Tim, a handsome man and successful partner in a prestigious midtown Manhattan law firm, has in the past had a routine of calling his wife, Jane, telling her where he was, and waiting patiently for her to arrive and bring him home. Together they have explored a diagnosis and treatment, from Mayo Institute in the US to clinics in Europe, to no avail. As the book opens, the second recurrence has just started, even as he is in the midst of preparing to defend a Very Important Client against a murder charge.
Tim and Jane have in addition had to deal with their daughter Becka’s teenage angst. She was nine when her father symptoms first appeared. Now seventeen, she wears her hair in dreadlocks, is grossly overweight, and plays the guitar to the exclusion of almost all else, but as the book progresses must take her turn overseeing her father and rescuing him when necessary. A grueling business for all concerned. As to the marriage, the author says about Jane: “She couldn’t know about walking. They were like two inviolable spheres touching at a fine point in their curves, touching but failing to penetrate, failing to breathe the other’s air. She chose to believe him when he told her that his condition was not a disorder of the mind but a malfunction of the body.” On its face a medical mystery, this is also a compelling and powerful tale dealing with some of the most basic and human of emotions, of commitment to one’s loved ones, of hope and despair, at once disturbing and surprising. Recommended.
