Phil took me to see this in theaters over my Christmas break. I love every minute of it, largely because my girl, Reese was the leading role. I also liked it because it showed a woman's insane journey back to herself following traumatic experiences within her own life. I identified with Cheryl greatly because I too have had periods in my life where I was totally lost and heartbroken.
The book in comparison was much more detailed than what they were able to fit in the two-hour movie. What I appreciated most about the book was Cheryl's honesty even in the grittiest of parts. It made her real and greatly humanized her for me.
Overall, I going in just greatly admired her balls for walking the PCT by herself and then as I read, I admired her even more for writing such a candid memoir about her experience. This is a must read, for sure.
This review refers to the Vintage Books first edition from March 2013 of WILD by Cheryl Strayed with ISBN 0307476073.
The story of Chris McCandless isn't exactly new. There were plenty of young men before him and plenty after him that believed, almost arrogantly, in their intelligence and ability so much so that they felt that even against the strength and almighty power of nature at its most wild that they would win out regardless of how ill-prepared they were for their journey. McCandless was a smart, well-educated twenty something from a well-off suburb of Virginia. His family, friends and those that knew him described him as such adding that, Chris often liked to be alone, not in the sense of being a "loner" and all that that term conjures, but in that, Chris didn't mind being alone and often was, finding ways to entertain himself.
He enjoyed wandering. He took long trips across the US and would often disappear for long stretches of time. After his graduation from Emory University, McCandless did just that. He packed up and left, eventually getting rid of his car, possessions and even burning what little money he had on him. From there, he drifts all over the West before finally trekking into the Alaskan bush country with ill-fitting boots and little to no food on him.
He plans to live off the land and strike out on his own totally negating the fact that he does not have the supplies needed nor has he taken the time to build the skill set that is needed to survive in the wilderness. Ultimately, the end of Chris McCandless is evident and it's easy to write him off as a know-it-all kid that got in over his head and paid the ultimate price.
And in some parts I do have to agree with that. He had a comfortable life set up for him and he gave it all away to pretty much tell his parents, up their's. On the other hand, Krakauer also includes stories of other boys who did the same as McCandless including stories of his own rebellion and his stupidity and near-death experience in trying to climb the Stikine Ice Cap. He spoke of how in your early twenties you grasp mortality, but your own seems so far off and something you're incapable to completely understanding that you slmost want to push yourself into the tip of it, the brink in order to look down on it and feel it.
Which, I get. It reminded me of how when I was 23, I went sky-diving and nothing makes you feel mortal and face your own mortality more than throwing yourself out of a plane and plummeting to earth with nothing but some flimsy material to save you. It was exciting, thrilling and it took away any and all control I had over myself and my well-being. It was exhilarating and something I probably will never do again.
Overall, did Chris McCandless over do it on the rebellion? Heck yes! But, his story and John Krakuer's take on it does make for a good read.
And then there's always the 2007 Sean Penn movie adaptation which boasts lots of beautiful scenes and enough Eddie Vedder to keep any Pearl Jam enthusiast satiated:
Score: 5/5 Book Information: Into the Wildby Jon Krakauer was reissued on August 21, 2007 through Anchor Books with ISBN 978-0307387172.
I have to admit, I saw the movie about a thousand times before I actually got around to reading the book. I even let my students watch it the last couple days that I was teaching French this year. I loved how the two stories went together and I love seeing Julia and Paul Child in 1950's France, it was great.
I hadn't planned on reading the book until I found it in the dollar store, to be honest. I liked Amy Adams Rom-Com version of the real Julie Powell and I kind of wanted to hold onto that.
Overall, I liked her memoir. It was fun and Julie Powell became more realistic, instead of perky Amy Adams. Julie Powell is harder, more sarcastic and a lot less bubbly and I guess that fits because when her story begins she's married, pushing thirty and beginning to feel the ticking of her biological clock.
Insert many vodka gimlets, cigarettes, meltdowns and full-blown realizations as she works her way through her self-imposed blogging project where she cooked her way through Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
I liked it in that I identified with it. I'm nearly the age she was when she wrote the book, so I guess I get what it is like to realize your 30th birthday is closer than your 20th and that you better start getting on with it before you're stuck in a life you didn't want, in a job you don't like with looming possible infertility problems and the anxiety that you have to figure it all out and soon.
And so, she creates a project and a blogs about it like we all do and thus Julie & Julia is born.
In the end, I could have done without a lot of the whining and self-absorbed moments, but I guess we do all have them. And if you have a blog you then blog about them. I should probably thank her for making me more self-aware of that.
Score: 3.5 out of 5 Book Information: Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell is available for purchase with ISBN 9780316109697 via Back Bay Books/Little, Brown and Company. It was originally published in 2005.
