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colleenrwalton's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Animal death and Suicide attempt
ariam's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.0
I liked the epigrams . Really disliked the chapters on Krakauer’s life and perspective.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
Minor: Suicide
michaelferlazzo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
</So sad!>
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
meowchemicalromance's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Minor: Domestic abuse
schmitzy_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
gracegodwin's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
One of my favorite books! Krakauer’s writing is so immersive; I spent the first part of the book hating the main character and finished it feeling as though we were one in the same. This story is now somewhat controversial, but IMO Krakauer crafts a sympathetic but fair and factual retelling. Fantastic book to read if you want to reflect on your life and what you value. 3 years after reading and I still think about this book often.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
lisasch's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
sad
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Child death
kjm_x's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Death, and Grief
Minor: Cannibalism
kyarabereading's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
I had to read this book for my AP Literature class back in 2018-ish, but I was a lazy high school student so I never read it. Plus, I didn't really care much for the story of Chris McCandless, so I thought "why bother?" I finally decided to give it a read this summer, and I have to say, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. It's not usually the type of book I read, so it was a huge surprise to me.
Since it's a nonfiction story, one may be inclined to think it would be really boring (and I will admit, some parts are a bit boring) but the author does a great job of bringing these "characters" to life. Krakauer really takes the reader on this journey with him, helping the reader better understand the journey Chris McCandless went through that led him to his untimely death in Alaska. I like that we not only learn more about McCandless's life: We also see Krakauer reflect on his personal experiences, provide historical information and connect it to McCandless's story, try to uncover the cause of McCandless's death, etc. I will say that I was even moved by McCandless's philosophy through this book. Before I even read the book, I had made preconceived notions about McCandless so I disliked him for all the reasons other people who learned about him after his death disliked him: He seemed pretentious, he did something reckless, etc. But I grew to appreciate him more through this book (though I still don't really like him very much). I think there's a lesson to be learned in that.
Final thoughts: Krakauer's writing is what compelled me to finish this book the most. Sometimes I forgot that I was reading a nonfiction book because he did such a good job storytelling in a way that makes the reader feel like they are there with him/with Chris. I would probably read this one again!
Since it's a nonfiction story, one may be inclined to think it would be really boring (and I will admit, some parts are a bit boring) but the author does a great job of bringing these "characters" to life. Krakauer really takes the reader on this journey with him, helping the reader better understand the journey Chris McCandless went through that led him to his untimely death in Alaska. I like that we not only learn more about McCandless's life: We also see Krakauer reflect on his personal experiences, provide historical information and connect it to McCandless's story, try to uncover the cause of McCandless's death, etc. I will say that I was even moved by McCandless's philosophy through this book. Before I even read the book, I had made preconceived notions about McCandless so I disliked him for all the reasons other people who learned about him after his death disliked him: He seemed pretentious, he did something reckless, etc. But I grew to appreciate him more through this book (though I still don't really like him very much). I think there's a lesson to be learned in that.
Final thoughts: Krakauer's writing is what compelled me to finish this book the most. Sometimes I forgot that I was reading a nonfiction book because he did such a good job storytelling in a way that makes the reader feel like they are there with him/with Chris. I would probably read this one again!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
leoniemacleod's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Minor: Abandonment and Animal death