THROUGH SAND AND SNOW, CHARLIE WALKER (2017)

An engaging pedal across Europe and Asia on an intangible quest

Neilson £16.99 978-1-9999349-0-3 241pp quarto

On a whim, Charlie Walker pedals 43,000 miles trying to work out what has impelled him on such a journey. He manfully resists stating his conclusion, but his enjoyable and unobtrusively erudite account provides a compelling answer.

Setting out in July 2010, Walker, an early-career journalist, makes plain that a west-country childhood, boarding school and university have provided him with little by way of challenge. On a ‘hundred pound second hand bike’ he sets off for Nordkapp, Singapore and Cape Town – the extremities of the landmass his joins in Calais. Based on measuring a one-page world map with his thumb, he estimates that this will take him four-and-a-half years.

On his way, he meets everything one might expect – attack, arrest, extremes of temperature, mechanical failure, drugs, perfidious sexual partners, kindly strangers, near-death experiences and, of course, moments of transcendental wonder.

Plenty of others have embarked on similar journeys, and written up accounts of their adventures. Of these, Walker is among the best. He is distinguished by an evocative turn of phrase, economy of detail, and brutal honesty. What really makes the book really compelling, however, is his engaging reflections on the emotional and moral qualities of his adventure. Is he different from the the drug-addled teenagers who party on Vietnamese beaches? Do his random roadside encounters amount to a meaningful engagement with the world? Can hook ups en route ever be the basis for lasting partnerships?

Such rumination would be leaden in the hands of a lesser writer. Walker, however, with little apparent effort, crafts thought-provoking observations from otherwise inconsequential incidents and uncovers humanity in the dustiest corners.

My only beef is his conclusion, which leaves matters mid-flow and well short of his advertised destination. Perhaps it was a deliberate cliff-hanger for episode two, but left me feeling like the recipient of a text message break-up.

I enjoyed his text as an audio book. Walker’s effective narration of his own text created an added layer of intimacy.