nouveau

a quarter million reads and 10,000 reviews reveals that Krakauer has his finger right on the pulse of the American reading public. yes, McClandess is a joke... and yes, chicks tend to dig these 'called into the wild' types, but whatever outrage and whatnot has been posted on this website, the end result is a competent piece of writing, some nice nature writing, a little weaker than Into Thin Air, but on the whole a good read.

i'm not lying awake at night crying my eyes out about Alexander Supertramp, and yes, he was a bit over-privileged, but the precise emotional and agitated reviews on this site are proof of the power of the book itself, judged purely on literary merits.

this is a non-fiction exploration about a young man with a net worth of 25,000 usd (given to him by his parents, to pay for university), who chose to give that money to charity, live off the land impracticably, and ...irrevocably. (?) see book cover; this is not a spoiler...



my understanding of this work is forever altered by the fact that I know a half-dozen girls who are just gaga for Christopher McCandless... they way they explain it, "romance" is only defined by outcome. many boys pretend 'romantic connection with nature,' but only CM was true to his spirit. as a boy, I can't really GET this the same way. but it's a dark work; dark writing.