I live not that far from North Pond, relatively speaking, but I read that book long before I even considered moving to Maine, during a period of time when I was obsessed with solitude and after years in LA, desperate for it.
What struck me about it was the relative hypocrisy of Christopher Knight -- he eshewed society, but couldn't keep his hands off the Oreos. It's an interesting contrast with "Into the Wild," in which the protagonist does indeed keep his hands off the Oreos and it ends up killing him. (Not that Oreos won't kill you ,too, just more slowly and arguably more pleasantly than what happened to Chris McCandless.)
Both are tragic figures, ultimately, and remind us of just how freaking difficult it is to escape this toxic culture we live in.
Yeah, Finkel talks about Christopher Knight's (admitted) hypocrisy throughout the book while valorizing him at the same time. It's what makes this book and it's subject frustrating to consider: all of it is true, digression from convenient narrative and all.
I live not that far from North Pond, relatively speaking, but I read that book long before I even considered moving to Maine, during a period of time when I was obsessed with solitude and after years in LA, desperate for it.
What struck me about it was the relative hypocrisy of Christopher Knight -- he eshewed society, but couldn't keep his hands off the Oreos. It's an interesting contrast with "Into the Wild," in which the protagonist does indeed keep his hands off the Oreos and it ends up killing him. (Not that Oreos won't kill you ,too, just more slowly and arguably more pleasantly than what happened to Chris McCandless.)
Both are tragic figures, ultimately, and remind us of just how freaking difficult it is to escape this toxic culture we live in.
Yeah, Finkel talks about Christopher Knight's (admitted) hypocrisy throughout the book while valorizing him at the same time. It's what makes this book and it's subject frustrating to consider: all of it is true, digression from convenient narrative and all.
oh, apologies, yes, I confused the author with the hermit. I adjusted my comment
and of course, most interesting stories include that kind of tangled narrative, otherwise they wouldn't be interesting
Happy Baby Oil Season to you!
Thanks...I think.