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A review by liralen
AWOL on the Appalachian Trail by David Miller
3.0
Of the AT books on my radar, this was one of the ones I was most looking forward to reading—the title evoked, I think, a combination of inner and outer journeys, and it has really solid ratings on Goodreads.
As it is, it's fine as a hiking narrative, but I think a) I was expecting more and b) I've read so many memoirs about walking the Camino that I've tired somewhat of the standard day-by-day narrative. Miller's tale is about the external (walked this far, stayed here, stayed there, it rained, talked to these people about those topics, got some blisters, took some rest days) with very little digression to the internal; his title/trail name (he named himself Awol (only the A capped, as far as I can tell) because he'd quit his job to hike the AT), too, remains an external thing—no sense of lostness physically or emotionally, simply a reflection of the fact that his bosses wouldn't let him take time off to do the AT.
If you haven't read much about long hiking journeys and are looking for a memoir that gives you an idea of the day-to-day experience, this isn't a bad one to start with; if you have read a fair amount about hiking/walking and want something in more depth, I'd suggest looking elsewhere.
As it is, it's fine as a hiking narrative, but I think a) I was expecting more and b) I've read so many memoirs about walking the Camino that I've tired somewhat of the standard day-by-day narrative. Miller's tale is about the external (walked this far, stayed here, stayed there, it rained, talked to these people about those topics, got some blisters, took some rest days) with very little digression to the internal; his title/trail name (he named himself Awol (only the A capped, as far as I can tell) because he'd quit his job to hike the AT), too, remains an external thing—no sense of lostness physically or emotionally, simply a reflection of the fact that his bosses wouldn't let him take time off to do the AT.
Spoiler
They did, however, hire him back when he was done.If you haven't read much about long hiking journeys and are looking for a memoir that gives you an idea of the day-to-day experience, this isn't a bad one to start with; if you have read a fair amount about hiking/walking and want something in more depth, I'd suggest looking elsewhere.