lexiepiper Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 Synopsis: What would possess a gifted young man recently graduated from college to literally walk away from his life? In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. Four months later, his emaciated body was found in an abandoned bus by a moose hunter. How McCandless came to die is the unforgettable story of Into the Wild. Review: I wanted to read this after watching the film that was based on this book, but I think I would say, the film is better. The book would have been much better if it had been written chronologically and without wandering off to talk about other people who have "walked into the wild" and not survived. The author even wrote a whole chapter about himself, which I had no interest in, so skimmed past. It all just seemed so irrelevent to the story about Chris McCandless. But I can understand why Chris did what he did, to just lose everything material and get away from civilisation must be nice, but one tiny mistake cost him his life, and that is what is very tragic about this story. I've given it 3/5 just because I disliked the format of the book, but the actual story of Chris McCandless is 5/5, but I'd recommend the film rather than the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimera Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 Thanks for the review lexi! I was wondering about reading the book, now I wont bother. I'll watch the film again instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freewheeling Andy Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 It's a while since I read the book, but I do remember it being a bit grating and annoying, and the whole romancifying of what McCandless was doing seemed a bit awry. It wasn't exactly a bad book, but it just could have been much better. Perhaps the material was a bit thin, but I don't think that's a great excuse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexiepiper Posted January 5, 2009 Author Share Posted January 5, 2009 It's a while since I read the book, but I do remember it being a bit grating and annoying, and the whole romancifying of what McCandless was doing seemed a bit awry. It wasn't exactly a bad book, but it just could have been much better. Perhaps the material was a bit thin, but I don't think that's a great excuse. Yeah I know what you mean, it was written in a very favourable light towards McCandless, despite saying at the beginning that he'd try to be neural in his writing. I think the trouble is with this kind of book, is that no one really knew him, so they're just guessing at what they presume he must have thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lopeanha Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 The story sounded so good, but what the author made of it didn't met my expactations. I would have liked to know more about McCandless time in Alaska and not about whoever else. With no further diary material he couldn't write more but then, they should have put it on the book, that it's not totally about McCandless. I didn't see the movie yet, but I would like to. I guess it might be better than the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexiepiper Posted January 7, 2009 Author Share Posted January 7, 2009 Yeah I would have liked to see the same. And having seen the film, I would def say it's much better, I really enjoyed it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Binary_Digit Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 (edited) I found the story of Christopher McCandless to be very compelling, and upon completing the book I went on a fact finding mission. What I discovered startled and saddened me. Having seen photos and corroborating evidence, I can say with certainty that Into the Wild is a work of fiction, a glorification of the sad story of a young man's unfortunate demise. If you were moved by Krakauer's novel, or Sean Penn's film, I urge you to reach out and learn more. For starters, I would reccomend a documentary entitled "The Call of the Wild" by Terra Incognita films. The film company's website is an excellent source of information on the truth about Christopher McCandless. http://www.terraincognitafilms.com/wild/call_debunked.htm Edited March 22, 2009 by Binary_Digit Added link to reference Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stillgood Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 The cover of the book is pretty good.I'll check it out latter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RingwoodTree Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 I enjoyed and was moved by Sean Penn's film but will now check out the other info supplied here. Thanks everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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