I
have just been reviewing the reviews on Amazon of my book. I had not
realised that 6 or my reviews are from people who are authors
themselves. And I know another author is just about to read it during
his flight from Australia to Europe.
I don't think I
have mentioned this review from R J Askew, who is the writer of
"Watching Swift", an excellent book. Ron is also the author of The
Million Dollar Poem mentioned in the last post on this blog
5.0 out of 5 stars A TRULY INSPIRING READ, 3 Aug 2012
By ron - See all my reviews
This review is from: Vic's Big Walk (Kindle Edition)
Vic's
Big Walk is an excellent read because of the author's motivation for
writing his story and the inspirational nature of the achievment it
chronicles, especially, but not exclusively, for anyone approaching
their 60s or 70s. VBW is not overtly a self-help book as at no point
does it promise to change the reader's life in some wonderful way. Yet
this may actually be one of it's secret benefits for some readers
because it shows how someone may set themselves an adventurous and
difficult goal and then actually knuckle down to work out how to do it
and then get on with the achieving of said goal with minimal fuss.
I
could not walk some 30 kilometres a day for 70 days on the trot.
Something would give, be it physical or mental. The more I got into the
read the more I was astonished - a couple of black nails and one or two
other wobbles apart - at the author's sheer resilience.
But
Vic had a very strong motivation for his feat: charity. The onset of
his 70th birthday seemed to become secondary to this more selfless
motive. I am sure that Vic's singlemind dedermination to 'do something'
for others must have given him great energy on the way.
While
VBW chronicles the 70 days of the walk, it also reveals the depth of
planning needed over a much longer time, and the indispensible help of
Vic's wife Gay at every step. So while the book was about Vic's walk, it
is very much the story of a well organised team getting it right. The
intelligence and patience required are inspiring.
Vic
says himself he did not have any great thoughts on his walk as he was
too busy doing the actual walking. As one prone to wallow in sentiment
and metaphysical specualtion, this pragmatic approach to a long-term
task is very appealing. Vic set out to do something and did it. Simple
enough you might say. But in this age of instant pleasures and absurd
rush, we often lose sight of the value of taking our time over something
worth doing
That said, as Vic's walk neared its
conclusion VBW does offer some touching insights into the author's young
life in less frantic times. How different we all were then. Life is
materially richer for most of us now, but are we the happier for it? Vic
the walker notices how fast we drive around, how difficult it is to get
away from the sound of traffic, constant traffic in much of England.
And
a thousand kilometers back -- the cuckoos of France, endless cuckoos.
One of the joys of VBW is the often witty insights into Vic's
surroundings. His quest for coffee and blueberry muffins was eternal.
His musings on the physical advantage of trees to the walker, on the
attitude of the French to their trees, on the vagaries of way often had
me chuckling. So, too, his encounters with hostile dogs and coincidental
meetings with people were always engaging as were his insights into
French history, eepecially in the region in which he now lives.
I
felt as if I was on a journey as I read VBW. Perhaps I was measuring
myself against Vic, perhaps I was thinking, could I do that, how would I
be in that situation. All of which is good. Vic may have strayed from
his path a few kilometres here and there, but his moral and compass gave
him a true bearing from start to finish from which he did not deviate.
Ron Askew
- author Watching Swifts
