re:mote voices

Title: The Man Who Walks
Author: Alan Warner
Publisher:Vintage

the man who walks is the fourth book by scottish writer alan warner, most well known for morvern callar (a character referenced in passing by the main character of the man who walks). the man who walks compliments these demented lands well, both having a definite rambling surrealness, though in many ways TMWW is more pronounced in it's madness than TDL.

the nephew recieves a call to tell him that his uncle has robbed the pub, stolen the £27000 that was being saved as a christmas fund. the uncle is notorious, a drunk and quite probably a mad man, known throughout the land as the man who walks. the nephew sets out in pursuit of his uncle, going through a series of chaotic set backs and odd events. with this it seems likely that he will never catch his uncle before he has drank it or hidden it away.

from the start there is a dark humour to TMWW, an air of the absurd that almost creates a sense of a fractured reality surrounding the nephew's journey. becoming more twisted as the book goes on, a greater understanding of the nephew and his reputation coming through. is the nephew really a villain? or is it just a family difference which leads the uncle to bad mouth his kin? or is the nephew just incredibly unlucky?

the man who walks is set against the same background as warner's other novels to date. with which it shares the same sense of dialect in the narrative. as well as the general feel of location, both of which are clearly something which comes from warner's environment. overall? i enjoyed this, a lot - i think the man who walks just became my favourite warner novel.