Books #15 - Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer

Having been in Cyprus to attend the wedding of my eldest son, Shaun, it seemed appropriate that the reading matter for my journey and quieter moments in our hotel should be a book recommended and given to me as a birthday gift by Shaun.

'Into The Wild' tells the story of a young American, Christopher Johnson McCandless, who gives all of his savings away to charity, abandons his car, burns the cash in his wallet and turns his back on family and friends to venture into the wild, forbidding landscape of Alaska. Three months later his emaciated body is discovered by other, better equipped travellers. 

Since these events occurred in 1992, people have tried to make sense of what he did and why he did it. Various theories have been propounded including that he meant to commit suicide, that he starved to death or that he was poisoned by eating the seeds of wild potatoes. Author Jon Krankauer, who first brought this story to public attention through an article in 'Outside' magazine, attempts to unravel this mystery by revealing the background story of McCandless through interviews and correspondence with family, friends and people that McCandless met on his numerous travels.

I found it a fascinating story and one which is very thought provoking. While I would not regard myself as brave (or should that be reckless?) as McCandless, there is part of me that admires his quest for total freedom. How many of us I wonder would be willing to turn our backs on all material possessions and emotional ties to attain such a level of freedom? In one correspondence with an eighty year old man he has befriended, McCandless makes compelling arguments as to why the old man should make changes in his life and reject the security, conformity and conservatism that holds so many people back. I read the correspondence (pages 57-59) several times and found that the feelings resonated with me, YET there was also a part of me that considered McCandless to be a selfish arrogant fool. How dare he inflict such pain, worry and suffering on his innocent parents, let alone his siblings and friends? How would I feel if either of my sons decided to follow his example? And therein lies the wonder of this book. As I said at the beginning of this paragraph, it is a thought provoking read. 

In 2007 the book was made into a Sean Penn directed film. I have not seen it yet but mean to do so though whether I will find it as interesting as the book remains to be seen. I recommend that you read the book and make up your own mind about Christopher McCandless. Or perhaps you already have. Either way, I would be interested to hear your views.