Into the Wild

Maybe it’s because I also watched the movie, but reading about Krakauer in the book were some of the more interesting portions for me. The parallels are impossible to deny. And although I think McCandless is dumb and a bit of a douchebag, I also can’t help being caught in the romance.

What he tries to do is so cool, yet he’s obviously just not good enough to do it. Also he dies on my 5th birthday so that’s cool too.

Anyway, much like Blue Highways I was deeply moved by the notion of what happens in their stories, but something about the book irked me. In Blue Highways, it was the boring writing, in Into the Wild, it’s the annoying hubris of the McCandless. I strongly believe that if you’re going to be a douche, you have to at least be right and because McCandless dies he’s obviously wrong.

However, I can relate with his feelings of angst and his need to do something different from the norm, he just needed to be more realistic. Or at the very least better at surviving in the wild. Bear Gryllys would eat McCandless for breakfast if McCandless wasn’t devoid of any nutrients.

Speaking of Bear Grylls, I think he’s awesome and maybe if McCandless was as awesome, he wouldn’t be dead because even though Grylls is crazy, he isn’t stupid.