He was a sickly child, a boy who was in and out of hospitals for one period of his life. For a long time he is unable to walk. He lies in his bed, being fed, nursed, supported and accompanied by mother. But this woman is not his real mother; she is the one who had worked in his father’s shop, and who became his father’s second wife when his mother died. Without his parents knowing it, he starts to walk. He is in the boatyard, where he begins to tell the story about his father, about the shop and about himself.

The highly artistic novel The Art of Walking is about growing up. It is a burlesque and inspired story.