#16: Walking into the Wind by John O'Farrell

Available: Speaking with the Angel

This book was a pleasant surprise in a week ground down by emotionally heavy but fulfilling short story collections.

Speaking With the Angel has a lighter touch and was also created with noble aspirations: to raise funds for the Treehouse trust for autistic children. Contributing editor Nick Hornby's own motivations are clear from early on; his introduction charts his son's Danny's struggle with autism. Indeed, Hornby's opening words are as moving as anything else in the book. Here at The Gum Wall we are all about celebrating short fiction, however, and so we will instead celebrate John O'Farrell's Walking against the Wind.

The Story

Guy is a mime artist on the way to the top of his profession. His friends are glad to attend, at least at first, until they realise that most of his mimes are similar in style and duration. For the guy, the world is nothing if it cannot be explained in mime. A lover of his art, he suffers a variety of highs and lows in his quest for success. As he struggles on, his friends Richard and Neal grow wealthy, get married, and stop coming to his gigs. Guy becomes a father and realises that juggling the contrasting roles of mime and father is more difficult than he imagined it would be...

Any plot synopsis of this story fails to illustrate how funny it actually is. The reader is transported not only to the tougher times in Guy's life, but also to the absolute absurdity of a life crafted in mime, where Guy constantly offers his miming services as a superior version of life's eccentricities. When Guy finally stages his own life in mime (complete with final vocal ouburst), I felt a mixture of pity and joy for Guy, a winner in some regards, but ridiculous to society's more serious eyes.

O'Farrell should be commended for taking on a difficult subject and imbuing it with both humour and humanity. It does pose the question, however; would this story have worked with any other creative art? How important was the use of a mime (as opposed to a writer, musician, or artist) in creating the right mix of humour and pathos? What do other readers think?