The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris

The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris. Fiction, 313 pages.

One of my favorites of last year. Tim Farnsworth suffers from a condition that compels him to act in a particular way. No one in the medical community has ever heard of anything like this before (his daughter can't even find it with Google) and meaningful help is hard to come by. As the condition progresses it wreaks havoc on his relationships with his family, and his co-workers. Tim must decide what he can and cannot save in his life. To me, both in plot and character, this was reminiscent of Niffenger's "The Time Traveler's Wife". A wonderful second novel (while completely different in tone and style) by the author of 2008's "And Then We Came to the End". Ferris does a great job reading the audio as well.This was our book discussion choice for April and it generated a lot of strong feeling and a good discussion. Several people found it unpleasant and did not like it at all. They found the character of Tim totally unsympathetic. I disagree, and on this my second reading, admire the character and the book even more than after my first reading. I thoroughly enjoyed our discussion. Up next for the Wednesday night Book Group (meeting on May 25, 2011) is Jaimy Gordon's award winning novel of a rundown racetrack and the people who call it home, Lord of Misrule.

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