Into the Wild

An intriguing and thought provoking read. This book is more than just a biography or epilogue on the life of Chris McCandless. The author does a great job of tracing the last 2 years of McCandless' life while also setting other examples of man vs. wild at counterpoint.

Writing Style
Krakauer has a fabulous eye for detail, a great vocabulary, and his writing shows an intense passion for the outdoors. The descriptions of places, people and events were so vivid and engrossing that I feel as though I have a personal familiarity with many of the locations and events portrayed in the novel.

Even though Krakauer obviously has some of his own opinions and thoughts about the events, he did a fairly good job of presenting the work without too much intrusion of authorial bias. Actually, I felt that having Krakauer as author and narrator actually brought more to the story through his personal insights and bias. If the story was truly told by an absolutely non-biased author or by an author less passionately involved in the wilderness, I believe a lot would have been lost.

I also really enjoyed the use of quotations at the beginning of each chapter. Some of the quotations were pulled from passages found with McCandless while others were likely researched and input by Krakauer to add emphasis to his narrative.

Voice & Narrative
Krakauer's narrative voice was subtle and accessible and provided an excellent unobtrusive narrator for the course of the book. His passion for the outdoors in general and for hiking in particular was evident, especially in the chapters he devoted to his own experience.

At first I was taken slightly aback at the author's biographical interruption with his own climbing experience. On one hand, it felt somewhat egoistical to place himself in the same category as the numerous other anecdotal stories he had cited. As I thought more about it, however, it felt perfectly natural that he include his own experience. Firstly because the experience was just as good a parallel as any of the other stories he had researched and shared. Secondly, because it did expose the authorial bias that Krakauer did have towards McCandless and explained exactly how it was that the author truly could and did relate to the subject.

The Story
While there may have been times that Krakauer imposed some bits of fiction into the biography, he tries hard to present all of his writing either as fact based on findings or research or as his own opinion and he is careful to identify passages that are his opinion rather than documented fact. In a story such as this, there are times when educated opinions are the best we can hope for, and I think Krakauer presents himself as a viable source for potentially valid opinions.

While the central focus of the story is the last two years of Chris McCandless' life, that is not entirely the heart of the message.

As I started reading, I didn't know much about McCandless other than that he hiked out into Alaska and was found dead a few months later. I'd read some Jack London in High School, but even then, I wasn't entirely sure how this story was going to become a full book. It was exciting to find that the book explored more than just his final days in Alaska. It provides a rich biography of a young man searching for something and having many exciting and interesting experiences along the way.

I enjoyed the biography of Chris' life. It's easy to look at him and call him a "whiner" and condemn him for not just accepting the "good life" that was handed to him on a silver platter. It's harder to pull back the layers and actually examine the motives that drove him to the behaviors and actions of his life and death. Krakauer does a good job of investigating his life thoroughly and exposing the impetus for his journeying.

Overall
I think the heart of the story was outlined towards the end of the book. At one point, Krakauer and some of his friends go to visit the bus where Chris was found. In that chapter and those around it, Krakauer explores the psyche and motivations of Chris McCandless.

To paraphrase my take-a-way, he seems to suggest that everyone has a desire for adventure, excitement and to conquer the unconquerable...to push ourselves to the limit and to find (and push beyond) the extent of our capabilities. Krakauer makes the point that as we mature into full adulthood, we tend to restrain the wreckless abandon of youth, but if we're honest with ourselves, we can look back to our youth and see our unbridled passions chomping at the bit for the next great adventure.

In the case of Chris McCandless (and numerous others described in the book), the adventurous spirit full of wanderlust and excitement was never restrained. And in the case of Chris, he took it beyond the teenage spirit of "fast driving", "raucous partying", or just plain "outrageous living." Chris McCandless pushed himself farther and harder because he had an insatiable desire to do so. Whether that is born of an innate desire to discover the greatness of the human soul or out of stifled inferiority complex in his life, we may never know and truly it doesn't matter.

While we shouldn't go out into the world and recklessly throw ourselves in the path of disaster, I think the heart of this book is telling us that we need to examine our behaviors and explore the limits we have imposed on ourselves. Some limits may truly exist for our safety and our own personal improvement. Others may simply exist because of fear and timidity. The latter should be tossed away so we can truly live.

***
3 stars

I feel the same as one of the other reviewers; why summarize the story on the cover and tell me what happens?

I couldn't get to the end of this book, to be honest, I couldn't even read past page 55ish. I tried, I kept reading as much as I could and as far as I could, but this book isn't worth my time.

I will not finish the book regardless of how strongly I feel about finishing everything I start. And, I would never recommend this book to anyone.

This is not normally the type of book I read,but I am so glad I did.It's moving, and amazing. The story being recounted is quite interesting. (Later I saw the movie which seems very true to the novel, but is far more boring and slow moving than the novel- although the casting seems perfect.) Kraukauer is a beautiful story teller and lets you see the full character (smart but stupid, selfish but loving) boy who only wants to "walk into the wild" You can tell he loves him, but also wants to tell the truth. He is sensitive to those left behind and wants to depict Supertramp's final adventure as he might want it told himself. The book is interesting, and will make you sad, angry, and annoyed. It will remind you of the differences in humans, and how some people can be lost even unto themselves. The book pieces together fragments of the final months, year of Supertramps life to build a story of who this person was up to the tragic end.

It's ok to be a dreamer. It's ok to want to 'find yourself.' It's really ok to hike and backpack. I've done it myself, but I would never, never enter a wilderness area without, at least, a topographical map. Chris McCandless' story is nothing short of tragic.
Jon Krakauer does a fine job of getting you into the mind of this doomed traveler while also taking you into the adventure and beauty of the wilderness.

I'm saddened to see so many people writing with little or no compassion for Chris McCandless, and such a limited effort to understand his quest.

Most of us know what he was running from -- problems at home, a society struggling with issues of materialism and morality. But an understanding of what he was searching for -- inner peace, closeness with nature, a quiet and beautiful place in which to think -- eludes many of us, just as it eluded him.

It could be lovely, could it not? Wild strawberries spilling down the riverbank, red poppies flaming the hills, cobalt mountains loping along the sky, like waves in a gently rolling sea. I am blessed to live in such a place, where I can reflect and write in perfect solitude, and I appreciate the beautiful life I have. I live a little like he did, but without his extraordinary deprivation -- the berries, the bag of rice, no way (as he perceived it at that time) to get out.

Jon Krakauer mined this tragedy for the beauty, the goodness, and the hope that could be found in it -- and this bounty was rich! -- and I applaud his book and his wonderful writing, as I applaud the deeply moving film Sean Penn waited so patiently, for ten years, to create.

I agree with some of the points other reviewers have made -- that the particular venture Chris McCandless chose was ill-advised, that he had not adequately prepared for it, and that his family need not have been abandoned and left in the dark.

But we have all screwed up in our lives and hurt people around us, at least once, have we not? Well, I certainly have.

When other people use poor judgment and make mistakes, it's so easy to judge, to criticize, to close our minds. That's the easy way out, isn't it?

Whether we see Chris McCandless as a crazy kid, or as a courageous and intensely spiritual young man, we do know that he died afraid and alone. For that reason, if for no other, I think we need to reach for all the understanding and compassion we can give.


Arlene Sanders
Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia
www.ArleneSanders.com