From the Bookshelf of The Dusty Bookshelf…
Find A Copy At
Group Discussions About This Book
No group discussions for this book yet.
What Members Thought
I disliked this book not so much because of the writing (which was just fine) or Krakauer's message (which I felt was pretty ambivalent) but how people normally take this story. Most people see it as a wonderful story about a heroic figure who went against the grain of the mind-numbing American society and really lived. The only problem is that's he's dead. Really, really dead. And why is he dead? Because of his own stupidity. This is my problem. I see this book as glorifying stupidity. And then
...more
This book left me feeling conflicted. It's well written and thought-provoking: Krakauer's fondness for the wild shines through each chapter. However, I haven't encountered a more unlikable protagonist than the doomed hiker, Chris McCandless, since I read On the Road. There's a parallel between the two books, with naive voyages across the country for some sort of unclear, grand purpose. McCandless reads as the type of person who cares more about long-dead authors than his own, loving parents. Kra
...more
I just couldn't get thru this book, couldn't get past why anyone would be that foolish/naive, just go out & challenge worse & be surprised that worse wins.
...more
Mar 10, 2009
Mhari
marked it as to-read
May 20, 2010
Rachel
marked it as to-read
Feb 12, 2012
Carol
added it
Jan 15, 2013
crude
marked it as to-read
Jan 31, 2013
Kim DeCina
marked it as to-read
