Each month, someone from the Bristol Public Library
participates in the Radio Bristol Book Club and in October the book was A Walk in the Woods by Bill
Bryson. For the uninitiated, Bill Bryson
is a humorous writer of non-fiction, possibly best known for his travel writing
though in recent years he has branched out into other areas. His latest book is The Body: An Occupant’s Guide. A Walk in the
Woods is an account of Bryson’s attempt to walk the Appalachian Trail. It includes a great deal of information about
the history of the AT, including possible hazards (Bryson is always interested
in things that can kill him on his travels) and how to equip oneself for the
trail.
I had actually read the book before, but it had been a year or
seventeen ago so I felt I definitely needed to read it before the book club
meeting. I remembered how very
informative it was—I had known little about the history of how the AT came to
be or really how treacherous parts of it can be—and that the information had
been entertainingly imparted.
What I didn’t remember is how side-splittingly funny it
was. Bryson knows he needs to have
someone to hike with and after an increasingly desperate search, he finds
Stephen Katz. Katz is an old school
friend of Bryson’s, albeit one he hasn’t seen in decades. Katz assures Bryson he is good shape: “Real
good. I walk everywhere these days.” (Bryson
finds out that Katz’s car has been repossessed.) He also brings along
provisions for the trail—a duffle bag full of Snickers bars.
After this inauspicious beginning, the two go to Georgia to
start the Trail at its southern end—the most common route—and it doesn’t take
long for them to realize they may be in over their heads.
I thoroughly enjoyed my re-read of this book. Bryson has a sharp, cynical sense of humor
that some people do not like, but because he can be just as cutting about
himself as others, it doesn’t bother me.
He can be very critical about people and places.
What I love most, though, is all the information that’s packed
into his books. One of my most enduring
impressions from my first reading of the book was Centralia, Pennsylvania. I had heard the name of the place, but knew
nothing else: I certainly didn’t know that a coal seam that ignited in 1962 is
still burning today, destroying the town. Not far away, there is a mountain so
polluted by a zinc mill that all the vegetation has died, leaving a bare
hill. The contrast is particular strong
after the sections in which Bryson marvels at the beauty of the AT, with its
dense forests and spectacular views.
The other wonderful part of the book is more difficult to
describe. It has to do with the way
Bryson describes not just the forest but the effect that being in the deep
woods has on him. It’s a transformative
experience. The grandeur of the natural
world is often contrasted with the man-made world which, although filled with
delights like fast-food, hot baths, and vermin free sleeping, is transitory and
tawdry. Nowhere is this more evident
than Gatlinburg, Tennessee where stores Bryson saw just a few years earlier are
already distant memories, replaced by newer, shinier offerings.
I loved the book just as much, if not more, than I did the
first time around.
In between readings, a movie was made of the book with Robert
Redford as Bryson and Nick Nolte as Katz.
I saw it in the theatre when it came out in 2015 and liked it well
enough, though I didn’t remember a lot of the incidents depicted. Re-watching it after reading the book again
revealed that it did follow the
events in the book but it lacked the heart, the emotional resonance that I
found in the book. There were some nice
scenic views, but they seemed just that:
nice scenic views. The frame
story was altered because of the casting.
In reality, Bryson and Katz were in their 40s; Bryson was interested in
the Trail and its history in part because he wanted to write a book. Katz was at loose ends and wanted to connect
with a friend. In the movie, a much
older Redford is facing mortality and decides to tackle the AT as a way of
showing himself that he still has it, that he will not go gently into that good
night.
I have to acknowledge that part of my disappointment with that
first viewing of the movie was “what might have been.” Redford had optioned the book for a film in
2005 with the intention of having Paul Newman play Katz. That could have been a film for the ages! But of
course Newman passed away in 2008, so it was not to be. My second viewing left me more charitable
toward the film. It is very funny, even if it is formulaic, and Nolte is
wonderful as Katz. I also applaud the
expanded role Emma Thompson has as Bryson’s wife, who doesn’t get quite as much
attention in the book as in the film.
I recommend both book and movie, but if you can only choose
one, by all means take the book. Your
experience will be much richer.
