melaniecclegg

The Walk is an easy-to-read, fast-paced story following one man's journey to get home to his wife after The Big One has obliterated LA. The depictions of a post-disaster metropolis were fantastic, and there was some personal drama woven in with the gradual revelations of Marty's less-than-perfect home life. I actually liked Marty for all his flaws; he was just a guy trying to do what he thought was right. Buck was also a fun character - I did see the twist coming, but that didn't really spoil things.

On the downside, as a Brit who has never visited LA (or America at all), I found myself wading through a lot of descriptions of locations I couldn't relate to, and an awful lot of discussion of specific roads and routes that I feel would only enhance the story for those who are native to the city. There were also a lot of TV references that I didn't really 'get', since I'm afraid my knowledge doesn't go back any further than the mid 90s.

Regarding the ending, I'm still not quite sure if it fit with the story or not. On the one hand, there was so many self-aware references to Hollywood and TV cliches that I expected the ending to turn its back on this kind of thing completely. On the other hand, maybe having a perfect movie-style ending is the ultimate expression of self-awareness? I'm still undecided, but it did wrap things up in a nice, tidy, feel-good manner.

I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys disaster stories, or has an interest in the television industry - and it's ideal if you love both!