Book 40 Into the Wild

 

Into the Wild by John Krakauer fulfilled the category “Work Set Mostly Outside” for the PopSugar 2021 Reading Challenge. The nonfiction title follows the story of a man determined to live off the land.

It wasn’t my first choice. Again, I had a hard time finding one I loved. I started Beauty Queens by Libba Bray (I loved her Diviners series), but the novel didn’t catch my interest. Then I read Nerd in Shining Armor by Vicki Lewis Thompson. But I considered how many “older” books I had on the blog (that TBR list thing) and opted not to blog that one. It felt dated for romance.

Then I requested Into Thin Air by the same author as the chosen title. I’m still waiting for Libby to send it. LOL Instead, we have the tragic story of a young man who never made it home. (Not a spoiler as they tell us right away.)

Chris McCandless decides after college to change his name to Alex, travel and see the country, and live with less commercial, political, and conventional restrictions. He was a brilliant student but needed to live his life his way and not settle for a desk job.

The book goes back and forth between Alex’s journey and his final days in Alaska. He lived off the land for two years, making friends from Baja California, South Dakota, Nevada, and all the way to Alaska, where his life ended. He wanted to go “into the wild.” (Hence the book’s title.) Alex never seemed to live in a conventional house or apartment for long. In most of the narrative, he’s described as living outside in a tent or with other like-minded individuals. He held jobs from time to time, always working toward his big journey to Alaska.

In the end, he found his way to Denali National Park and Preserve and the Stampede trail. He discovered lodging in an abandoned city bus, converted to house miners. He lived there from April to August 1992, when some minor mistakes caused him to starve to death.

I’ve been back and forth with other readers about this one. Many of the “parents” I spoke to talked about his selfishness, his shortsightedness in prepping, and his stubbornness in not getting help.

I can’t say I feel the same. I loved his spirit of adventure. (Not that I even like to go camping, eww bugs.) But he embraced his choices and lived his life. It made me sad he passed, but I don’t believe he regretted his choices. (Probably lamented his mistakes, but I’d never fault him for that.) What young person (or just adventurous person) doesn’t trip along the way? Unfortunately, Alex’s stumble about food cost him.

It was not my usual read, but I was fascinated by the story. (I love a good narrative nonfiction.) I cried a bit, but sometimes we need to read the tale with the sad ending.

I give Into the Wild by John Krakauer Four Bags of Rice.