Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Into the Wild
Since relocating reading has taken up more of my time. I had been reading the paper every day and had to stop that because I was convinced the world was going to end in oh, about fifteen minutes. You know what they say, if it bleeds, it leads. Right before I left the States, I picked up a book that I haven’t been able to get out of my head. I wanted the last thing that I read as I travelled here to live to be a book set in the United States. It sounds strange but it seemed important at the time. Anyway, the book I selected was Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer and it has been in the news lately because Sean Penn has made a movie from the book. If you have read the book you are probably wondering as I am how this will translate onto the screen. I actually thought of my friend H in Iowa when I was reading it because she and I often talk about books we have read and we seem to come at the subject matter with the same practical outlook. H, this book will fascinate you and frustrate you all at the same time. K is reading my copy now and we had a long conversation about it when we were travelling to Chicago last week. If anyone else has read it and would like to comment, I would love to hear what you think.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Crazy that you mention this!!! One of my favorite books ever is "Into Thin Air" by Krakauer. It was phenomenal and I couldn't put it down. The story was about the 1996 Everest climb/attempt. Did you ever read this one? I have not read "Into the Wild" yet but am very familiar with the story line. I am not reading anything at the moment so I will get it and let you know. Going off what I know about it though...I can already agree about the movie version. I can't imagine it at all!!
BTW...did you see Running with Scissors? I never got to see the movie but have been dying to know if it was a success or not. It certainly did not hit it big at the box office but when has that ever counted, huh?!!
I am glad that you made it back safe and sound. I am secretly plotting a visit!! Not sure when that can happen but it is good to have dreams, right?!!
One more thing about "Into Thin Air"...Krakauer was actually on this world famous climb. You will be amazed that he lived to tell about it!!
Let me know if you can't find it for some reason. I will send it to you!!
One thing to look forward to in the screen adaptation is the original music written and sung by Eddie Vedder. I was watching CBS This Morning last weekend and Sean Penn was on talking about the movie. Even Sean Penn could not really say whether or not Chris was just stupid by not preparing better, or if he was a dreamer who felt the need to test himself against the wild. Sean never said one or the other. Just that as a surfer he understood the need to test your body and your soul. Should be interesting. I can't stop thinking about it either.
Post a Comment