In the year 1992, Christopher Mccandless, a young man from a well to do family, graduates from Emory University in Atlanta, donates his savings to charity and hitchhikes to Alaska. Mccandless even abandons the name given to him by his parents and adopts a new name- Alexander Supertramp. He abandons all the comforts and materialistic possessions and walks into the wild.
The author probes into this young man’s poignant journey to Alaska. As the story develops, the reader will find the book unputdownable because of the compelling and arresting narrative. The author has interviewed many people encountered by Mccandless while hitchhiking to Alaska and has also referred to the journal kept by him. Krakauer also tries to draw parallels between himself and Mccandless and their rebellion against their autocratic fathers. As the story matures, there are questions that begin to haunt the reader: Is Mccandless just another Don Quixote, a rebel or an escapist? Or was it just an act of renunciation? Was he searching for the Shakespearean ‘forest of Arden’? Or was he just an adventurous youth?
Mccandless and his story made headlines in the newspapers and one of the editorial reviews I read stated, “Mccandless self-consciously adopted a Tolstoyan renunciation of wealth and returned to nature.” One of the letters written by Mccandless to a friend says, ’’You are wrong if you think Joy emanates only or principally from human relationships. God has placed it all around us. It is in everything and anything we might experience. We just have to have the courage to turn against our habitual lifestyle and engage in unconventional living.’’However, some people have called Mccandless a reckless idiot and believe he did it for his fifteen-minutes-of-fame.
This is one of the most overpowering books I have ever read and I am sure that it will continue to attract legions of enthusiastic readers. Krakauer has done an exceptional job and succeeded in weaving a gruelling, real life story without letting his opinions or thoughts colour it. Oscar Wilde once said that all good art must conceal and not reveal the artist. Perhaps also the reason Krakauer has found his way into my list of favourite writers. I am on my way to buy “Into Thin Air” – another book by Krakauer that became a #1 New York Times bestseller and has been translated into 24 languages. My review might have failed to capture the essence of the book but I would be delighted if I see more reviews written on Into the Wild at Mouthshut.
About the writer
Born in 1954, he grew up in Corvallis, Oregon, where his father introduced him to mountaineering as an 8-year-old. After graduating from Hampshire College in 1976, Krakauer divided his time between Colorado, Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, earning his living primarily as a carpenter and commercial salmon fisherman, spending most of his free moments in the mountains.
Other books by Jon Krakauer
Under The Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith
Eiger Dreams, collection of his mountaineering essays.
Into Thin Air
Iceland: Land of the Sagas, a collection of his photographs.