“I loved the movie and then picked up the book. I really liked the book, but sometimes Krakauer gets in the way of the story. I did appreciate the fact that he was able to delve deeper into the story. I can relate to having the desire to escape from it all and I really admire Chris McCandless for doing what he felt compelled to do. I think his story was such a tragedy and Krakauer was able to bring forth a real person- enigmatic, flawed, and ultimately admirable.”
“I read the book long ago and recently watched the movie. I can relate to the idea of wanting to escape the ratrace, but McCandless takes it to the nth degree -- and pays the price. In the movie I was really able to see the transition from feeling the master of the wilderness to realizing he really had very little control, and was "trapped in the wild." Another reminder that we do not control nature!”
“When you think about it, what McCandless did, and how he lived his life is not unforgettable, nor commendable. Greatness comes with striving to change what you don't agree with, the determination to make a difference to the parts of the whole, even in the smallest way. That is were the real risk is, not in running away from what you hate - that's easy, especially at the point in life McCandless was at. All societies have problems, but you don’t hate the whole, you fix its parts to better it. If it wasn’t for the book, Chris’ story is really very simple. Krakauer romanticized it in such a brilliant way that I wanted to be in my early twenties again. We’ve all wanted, at some point or another, to pick up and just go, go anywhere at anytime, leaving everything behind. I commend Chris for taking risks that I never took the time to take, or perhaps I waited too late. Yet I would have taken those risks for much different reasons than his. Perhaps that is what makes his story marketable.”
“i saw the movie adaptation of the book and it is shown as if the protoganist tries to come back into the social circle but was too week to make the journey back is that so in the book?”
“Well, sometimes you can only go into nature to find the solitude and peace needed to properly find one's place in all of existence. I can understand the comments supporting the alternate could be true, but clearly it the hero couldn't find enlightenment in suburbia. Neither did Thoreau. The book Wild at Heart might explain a bit more as to "why."”
“Why does a person need to go out into the wild to find himself? Can't "enlightenment" derive from the mundane?”
“I found the story very engaging. I watched the movie, and the following day bought the book. Once I started, I could hardly put it down. I think his distachment from his family, something I've read a lot of criticism about, is nowhere near the heart of the story. With such a strong will, I think Chris would have made the same choices even with strong family ties. He didn't just abandon his family, it was really society that he was fed up with, and trying to escape. OK, so he should have been more prepared and maybe he was a little cocky. But the touching nature of the story is the search that he went through. Even though he met a very early death, I think that he found what he was looking for. He went out and followed his dreams, and ultimately came to a realization and a peace about life, that few people, probably, will ever find. Great story, very moving”
“I just finished the book and found it a compelling read. It's sympathetic to McCandless without being apologetic for him, and I doubt that anyone else but Krakauer would have taken the time to show what Chris' motivations might have been. He was not, as first impressions might suggest, just some callow smartypants with a death wish. Can't wait to see the movie now.”
“i absolutely loved this story and felt so inspired to get out of this tired and repetitive routine that i live by, saying goodbye to the daily grind and actually go out and do something!!!!!! i wouldn't go about things the same way chris mccandless did, and i don't despise some things as much as he did. i find them bearable. but i can't wait to say goodby to it for a while!this was very easy to read and have heard jon's other book "into thin air" is just as addictive. i couldn't put this book down.”
“ok. not great. maybe b/c i couldn't connect to the chris in any way. maybe im too comfortable in civilization. i mean i know where he's coming from, but it's ridiculous to me. i mean we evolve because we want easier lives. i dont know. i mean he had such a high "moral code" but when it comes to family he can cut them off? .... you know? ”
