He Who Would Walk the Earth blends western with a subtly dystopian setting. The atmosphere reminded me a bit of In the Distance by Hernan Diaz, a lone boy walking the dry plains, but He who would walk the is more eerie, more fast-paced, more reminiscent of something post-apocalyptic rather than historic. Griffin Bjerke-Clarke has crafted a compelling story in a short book and a main character (Felix Babimoosay) that intrigued me from the very first pages. For me, this was a "don't judge the book by its cover", cause what's inside the pages was much more intriguing to me than the cover. Very interested to see what Griffin writes next!

Thanks to Columbia University Press | Roseway Publishing and Netgalley for this ARC of 'He Who Would Walk the Earth' by Griffin Bjerke-Clarke.

This really is not an easy read but what an extremely interesting work of art Griffin Bjerke-Clarke has created.

The blurb comparison to Beckett's 'Waiting for Godot' is apt. We don't really know where or when this is set though the description and the clues in the narrative suggest it's post-apocalyptic, certainly dystopian. We don't really know who these characters are, which is apt since the main character with the fabulous and plucked-from-air name of 'Felix Babimoosay' doesn't really know who he is either.

Felix is wandering through this blasted landscape and time, displaying impressive physical stamina, encountering people and places who are either helping or hindering him, again, hard to tell and possibly learning more about himself and his situation as he progresses.

It also reminded me in tone and the impression it left on me of 'The Unconsoled' by Kazuo Ishiguro. Just a whole world that is *almost* recognizable to us, populated by people with or without a past, we don't really know, and - for me - terribly unsettling. I read that book over 20 years ago and although I don't think I enjoyed it, per se, I have never forgotten it nor the impression it left on me.

Another book it reminded me of in its dry, dystopian setting, mysterious setting, and unsettling nature is the classic 'A Canticle for Leibowitz' by Walter M. Miller Jr.

I applaud the mind that birthed this story and characters and Columbia University Press for publishing it.