Bill Bryson
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It has been a little bit over a week since my last review, which means I am getting behind my goal of one per week. I will do better at this in the coming weeks...
This week's book is considered by some to be a classic of travel writing, that genre of odd experiences on the road and the hilarity that ensues. In A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson chronicles his attempt to take on the Appalachian Trail, some 2000+ miles of hiking up mountains, down mountains and everywhere in between. His companion for the trip is a man by the name of Stephen Katz - who Bryson had the (mis)fortune of traveling with some years earlier and who Bryson could barely tolerate.
One can hardly even imagine the riotous comedy that would result from both the odd couple of Bryson and Katz and from their task. Starting with Bryson's trip to buy equipment and continuing through Katz' decision to throw out half the food one day into the trip and the obnoxious fellow hiker who latches on to the two of them for some time, A Walk in the Woods brings to its readers both humor and poignancy.
When reading this book, one feels as if he or she is travelling alongside Bryson and Katz, experiencing what they experience and feeling what they feel - such is the quality of writing. To be sure, readers should beware that Bryson is occasionally, shall we say, a wee bit excessive in his choice of language...but even in those cases a reader begins to feel as if it were totally appropriate.
From my perspective, A Walk in the Woods, written over 10 years ago, is a fantastic read for people who don't understand the contemporary cry to protect our environment and our natural treasures. Even if you don't appreciate that, though, you should pick this up and read it just for the laughs and for the opportunity to experience, albeit vicariously, a uniquely American trek.
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