I bet I’m not the only one drawn to the notion of a complete fresh start, some way of casting the past aside and beginning with a tabula rasa. In Martin Westley Takes a Walk by Sydney author Andrew Humphreys, a businessman wakes up in hospital after being knocked unconscious by a falling kite. He can remember nothing about his life or family. Returning home with the stranger he is told is his wife, he is forced to reconstruct himself, only to find he is now nothing like the man he was.
Beginning with the sweet premise, the first third of Martin Westley Takes a Walk is a lovely mixture of plot revelations and unadorned, descriptive prose. The cast of characters – Martin’s hard-bitten wife, his rebellious children, his rapacious best friend, an Indian chief he befriends – is brought vividly to life. If the author’s inventiveness had been sustained, and if the themes of existential identity and morality were explored more thoroughly, this would be a superb novel. In the event it falters and I was left with minor letdown.
An intriguing and rather daring read. 2½ stars.