A couple of months ago I posted about The Walk, a novel I read for my book club by Richard Paul Evans. Tim and I read the book together on a trip pulling the Airstream. I would read and he would drive. Fortunately I don’t get car sick when reading.
After losing his wife, home, cars, and business, the protagonist (Alan) was planning to walk from Seattle Washington to Key West Florida, because it was the farthest he could walk on the map, and it was better than killing himself. He only made it as far as Spokane in the first book, so we decided to purchase the rest of the series and see what his journey was like on the rest of the walk. (We knew he would make it to Key West; we just didn’t know the story along the way.)
I’ve already posted a review of book one in the series, so this review is more focused on the remaining four books and the overall series. Each book could almost be read as a standalone as he does recap in each book (if you don’t mind ending on a cliffhanger). However, one cannot fully appreciate the entire series without reading them all.
We finished the series on a few other trips in the car, truck, and lying in bed when we didn’t feel like watching television. It was a good thing to do together, as we could read aloud and walk the journey as a couple, groan at the less than realistic parts, drool over Alan’s brand new camping gear, commiserate when he made stupid choices, reminisce about the places he described where we had already been, and contemplate visiting some of the places he mentioned in the book where we have never been. It’s a great way to pass the time, while spending quality time together.
There are some spoilers here, so if you plan to read the books, don’t read any further š¤Ŗš„“. I thought Iād give you a quick review in case you were wondering how the series ends. Some critiques will be shared as well as things we really liked.
The author’s writing style is easy to read. Chapters are short and manageable. He does a good job of painting a picture of the activity in the book, sometimes in painful detail, but it helps you to “see” what Alan is experiencing in the moment. Also, he has many, many interesting lines that make you stop and reflect. I also liked that he drew a map at the beginning of each book, to show the reader his route and point out interesting places along the way.
The last book was another easy read on our quick trip to Florida between Christmas and New Years to see our friends. We finished the series together on the road and we met our goal of completing the series before the year ended. The stories found throughout the series were heartwarming, while not always realistic. For example, a young mom named Analise with two children invited him (a stranger) to come over for dinner, intimating that her husband would be joining them shortly. When it later became evident that she didn’t have a husband, we felt it was much too bold for her to have done that, for her own safety as well as the safety of her children. Either she was very naĆÆve, desperate, or they are much more trusting of strangers in the small rural town he was walking through.
Overall it was an entertaining series with cliffhangers at the end of each book, nudging us to keep reading. However, we felt it could have all been put into one long novel, or two at most, with fewer lengthy monologues and details about which road he took and what kind of mundane food he ate. (We tired of reading about Cliff bars and Pop-Tarts.)
Unrealistically, there were way too many stories that had a religious twist, when in the real world not everyone you meet is into God or part of some freaky cult group. The retired pastor and his wife who bought the bed and breakfast where he had previously stayed seemed like an odd choice of characters. I truly wish people were more open about their faith as they are in the books, but it seemed forced throughout the series. Also, several references seemed anachronistic for a man in his 30s. A reference to Zsa Zsa Gabor changing husbands š? We understood because of our age, but young adults might wonder who in the world Alan is talking about. Ms. Gabor died a year after his last book was published at the age of 99.
Some stories were very strange, like the cult leader in book four who preyed on his hunger, swayed him to come to the compound to eat, and locked him in the building from which he had to escape. They believed aliens were our god and all the cult members followed one leader. Alan tried saving a woman who was being āpunishedā by the cult by helping her escape, but she went back to the cult in the middle of the night. He regretted leaving her side, as he thought she truly wanted out. That whole story seemed to come out of left-field, and we wondered if the author was just looking for a filler to entertain. I suppose one could find a hidden message, e.g. the wiles of Satan and how he tempts us when we are weak, but the whole thing was very bizarre. Alan was looking over his shoulder for a while after that encounter, and we had a bad feeling as well. Ā
I read the authorās background and he comes from the LDS (Mormon) tradition, so we wondered if he was sending some type of message about the church at times. Perhaps he was subtly warning people not to get involved with a group that has been labeled as a cult by mainstream Christianity. Nowhere could we find whether he is still active in the LDS church, but we know it is a hard one to leave. He does live in Utah with his family, so he is likely still a member. The religious theme of the series seemed closer to a dismissal of religions, and Alan himself didnāt seem to have a strong religious belief. Yet religion and talk about God was found throughout the series. It seemed out of character, while tugging at the main character. It was difficult to get a sense of who the character Alan really is as it pertains to his own personal faith.
There were a lot more stories than actual walking throughout the series, which made the journey interesting and provided lots of fodder. But there was also enough walk (3,000+ miles) to enjoy the scenery. Alan was met with people and circumstances delaying his walk several times; for example, being mugged, recovering from serious injuries, having a brain tumor (benign), surgery, more recovery, and caring for his dying father. Alan’s walk was delayed by almost 200 pages at the start of book four while staying in Pasadena with his father; however, the lessons he learned while caring for his dad are noteworthy. He grew to appreciate his father more than ever before. He never knew the sacrifices his father had made on his behalf. His dad had written a family history, which gave Alan insight into his grandparents, parents, and his own life growing up as a child. It made me want to write such a history for my own children.
One long part of his journey confronted Alan’s need to extend grace and forgiveness to other individuals. There are some great quotes in the third book which primarily deals with this concept. For example, “we chain ourselves to what we do not forgive.ā
Alan’s business partner had stolen his company, which lead him down one path of bitterness. The Holocaust survivor Leszek, who found him passed out on the side of the road, was instrumental in helping him see the value of forgiveness. Alan wrote, “Leszek has taken me into his home to care for me. Would I have done the same for him? Iām ashamed to answer.” We thought it a bit unrealistic that he would run into a Polish, Jewish man in South Dakota, but we tended to overlook these kinds of conflicting details and just read the message. After that encounter (and a lot of introspection) Alan penned Leszek’s words, “It is not the ability to walk that pleases God, it is the desire to walk. The desire to do the right thing. The truest measure of a man is seen in the actions that follow.”
Also, McKale’s mother Pamela searched and found Alan. She showed up in book three. He dismissed her, but she followed (stalked) him for a lengthy part of his journey. Early in the series we learned that McKale and Alan were childhood friends and sweethearts. She was the girl next door — literally. Her mother had left her with an abusive father when she was young, and Alan never understood why. He held a disdain for her mother that is evident in the following book quote: “There are people such as Benedict Arnold or Adolf Hitler, whose names become synonymous with evil and more adjective than proper noun. For me, ‘Pamela’ is such a name.”
Pamela could not keep up with him. She didn’t have a backpack or proper footwear, was not drinking water or eating, but she was persistent in finding ways to locate him on his journey. Multiple times she had a driver drop her off on the road beside Alan. He kept walking. She became quite ill from trying, and finally passed out on the street where Alan had a decision to make: Go back and help her, or keep on going. Fortunately for her he did the right thing, the most unselfish thing to date. There was an interesting plot twist when he finally decided to hear what she wanted to say. And yes, he did choose to forgive her. He wrote, “To forgive is to unlock the cage of anotherās folly to set ourselves free.”
“As we walk our individual life journeys, we pick up resentments and hurts, which attach themselves to our souls like burrs clinging to a hiker’s socks. These stowaways may seem insignificant at first, but, over time, if we do not occasionally stop and shake them free, the accumulation becomes a burden to our souls.”
Book 3, Chapter 9
Alan had a few potential love interests along the way, none of them sexual, which was a bit unrealistic in our view (the closest he came to having sex was with a young single mom Analise who shared his bed and invited him to make love to her, but he rejected her offer because he couldn’t imagine giving himself in that way to anyone but his wife McKale). While he remained pure in his commitment to his deceased wife, he shared hotel rooms, homes, beds, and even his tent and sleeping bag with various women. Perhaps the author’s attempt to keep it PG played into this decision. As a Christian I appreciated the purity, but it seemed unrealistic for a man in his 30s.
“People arenāt wired to be alone. Even in the stressful population of prison, solitary confinement is still considered a cruel punishment.Ā “
Book 2, Chapter 13
Alan finally started moving past McKale’s death as he discovered the second love of his life. Until the very end, the reader was left wondering who it would be? The young mom, or the other two more prominent characters Nicole or Falene? It wasn’t Analise. She was only present in the one story, never to show up again.
One possible love option was Nicole. He knew her as āAngelā at first. He fixed her flat tire on the highway, and then she nursed him back to health after his mugging in Spokane. They lived together for several months while he was recovering (in another purely platonic relationship). Interestingly, while he was recovering at her place in the first half of book 2, he says, “My father came. No matter what he said, his search for me spoke louder.” She helped him deal with his feelings toward his father, and he helped her get through her depression by watching her bucket list of movies together and sharing life together. There was a lot of healing that took place physically, emotionally, and relationally, one of life’s many lessons.
In English we have one word for love. I wish we had different words like we see in other languages, as it would make our communication about this emotion much clearer. Alan was very grateful for Nicole’s compassion. He loved her, and her love for him grew stronger each day. But he loved her more like a sister. When they eventually kissed in the final book, after she had pursued him the entire series, she realized at that moment she wasnāt in love with him but loved him in the same way he loved her. She loved him like a brother. Alan and Nicole remained good friends throughout the series, and they stay connected. Admittedly, the love triangle was resolved a little less messy than I’ve read in other novels. (She ended up with the doctor who was treating his father.)
So that leaves Falene. She was introduced in the first book. She was his assistant at the advertising agency which he owned. When he lost his business and took off walking, she was the only one who stood by his side. She helped him by organizing his stuff, helping him fund his walk through the sale of his things. It took him five books and a trip across the country to realize she was the one for him. He wanted to reach out to her but she had moved to New York and changed her contact details so he could not find her. He hired a private investigator and found her phone number, but he didn’t call her right away. He finally called her after his father died. He asked her to come to the funeral where she told him she was engaged to be married.
From the time she met him she was in love, but he was married to McKale so she had never pursued it. Even after McKale died, she didn’t think she was good enough for him, even though she was a beautiful model. She had several abusive ex-boyfriends, and believed she would always be the “girl behind the bleachers,” never good enough for someone as kind and loving as Alan. She agreed to help him on his walk so she could stay connected. Eventually she broke off her engagement because she had always been in love with Alan.
Alan and Falene finally got together when he was sitting on the sandy beach at Key West and he heard her voice come up behind him. I wasn’t surprised for her to be there honestly, but my reaction caught me off guard. There was a continual question of “will she/won’t she” so it could have possibly gone either way. I admit I was a bit teary when they finally got together š„²š„². I thought she would be the one, because he alluded to this in the beginning of the series when he said he never thought he would be married to a model, but the journey to get there was heartwarming.
At the end of his journey, Alan took an inventory of all the people who had helped him on the walk and influenced his life in some fashion. He was grateful for everyone he met, and each circumstance, even the challenging ones. Also, Alan helped several people along the way, like Kailamai, the Samoan runaway teenager who was just about to be raped by a gang (again, a bit unrealistic, but not entirely implausible). He pulled out his gun gifted to him by his dad after the mugging, and saved her life. The two of them walked together for several days, weeks even. He connected her to Nicole, who had by now inherited an apartment complex and a house. Nicole became a mentor to the young girl who became a successful student in college.Ā
He wrote about Kailamai in book 2. “It’s difficult to believe that someone with so many trials could harbor such hope, as there are those with so much advantage who harbor such hopelessness.” She embodies a teen one would like to help. She loved stupid dad jokes, had a positive attitude, and her character made me laugh as I’m also a bit weird.
Kailamai comes back in the end and meets Alan in Key West with Nicole. The two of them were there to welcome when he finished his walk. In the restaurant they read a sign that made me laugh, and then go hmmmmm, “I dream of a day when a chicken can cross the road without having its motives questioned.” So many people questioned Alan’s motives. How often do we question another’s journey in life, and the choices they make? Take a step, and don’t worry about what others think. It’s your walk!
One thing I liked about the series was the spirit of adventure, and reading about different parts of the country where we have personally been. The author got most of it right, as he did take a road trip with his daughter to research the road his character Alan would travel. A few times my husband and I looked at each other and said, “nah…there’s no way he did that in one day.”Ā Some of the stories were adapted from the authorās interviews with a holocaust survivor, hitchhiker, and others who he met on that road trip, which did make it feel more authentic at times.
I was also inspired by the analogy to our own āwalk.ā Everyone travels a journey in life. Everyone. Everything and everyone we encounter shape who we are. Ā The good, the bad, the pretty, the ugly. Even the health scares. I know I am a better person because of the ladies in my book club as well as others I have met along the way.
Sorry this is so long, but it is a five book series, so you can cut me some slack šš¤£š. I hope you enjoyed reading my review of The Walk series. Let me know what you think in the comments below! We would probably rate the series about an 8.
Ć la prochaine…hasta la prĆ³xima vez…until next time!