讀書雜談
《 Into the Wild 》
(1996)
by Jon Krakauer
Into the Wild is a 1996 non-fiction book written by Jon Krakauer. It is an expansion of a 9,000-word article by Krakauer on Christopher McCandless titled "Death of an Innocent", which appeared in the January 1993 issue of Outside.[1] The book was adapted to film in 2007, directed by Sean Penn with Emile Hirsch starring as McCandless. "Into the Wild" is an international bestseller which has been printed in 14 languages and 173 editions and formats.[2] The book is widely used as high school and college reading curriculum.[2] "Into the Wild" has been lauded by many reviewers but has also been described by Alaskan reporter, Craig Medred, as being "something invented" by its author. ( Wikipedia )
對於本書主人翁 Chris McCandless 此人之評價，在一般讀者之間也相當兩極化。作者寫此書時所採取的方式，從自己年輕時的經歷及視角出發，比對一位和他當年相仿的理想主義者。以一種較平實並具關懷的情感去看待他的所作所為，從不同角度切入，讓他的讀者對這個年輕人有更深入的認識。
世上有這麼些個人，視探險為對己身的挑戰，尤其是年輕人。應該給他們歸類於蠻勇之徒 daredevil 或是 隱遁之士 hermit 較恰當呢？通常不能這麼一刀兩斷。 一般咸信 McCanless 之隕落在於對自己過分自信，對外在環境不夠暸解，和他過於天真和樂觀的態度。仗著年輕強健的體魄及過人之毅力，他單獨一個人和原始林地打交道，靠一己之力維撐了四個月之久已是相當不容易。
至於讀者在掩卷思考之餘，得到的結論和啟發則因人而異。這個模式的英雄或是反英雄人物是否值得仿效並非主題，然而的的確確這些人這些事曾在世上發生過，經新聞媒體發佈，引發紛紜議論的真實事件，同時反映出一些當代的社會現象及潛在問題。
讀來有如「魯賓遜漂流記」之類的冒險小說，只不過這是個真人，他所處的世界及環境並不全能靠一己之力來克服。命運之神固然眷顧自強自立的人，千變萬化險峻的原始森林，一線之誤的判斷和不經意的疏失，造成的結果是一條生命的存活或隕滅。
Grace
