A Walk in the Woods

A Walk in the Woods - Bill Bryson

Part memoir, part historical commentary, "A Walk in the Woods" is the recounting of Bill Bryson's decision to hike the Appalachian Trail. Bryson includes all steps of this process, starting with instructions from his kids about purchasing gear ("Don't ask so many questions!"), to every last adventure with his amazingly incongruous trail mate, Stephen Katz, to their final steps on the trail. Along the way, Bryson delivers a well-researched history about the development and maintenance of the trail and sarcastic commentary about the trail, the woods, the conditions, and the antics of every person they encounter along the way. From bear scares in the middle of the night, to little luxuries of condensation on a can of soda, to the soul-searching that accompanies leaving goals incomplete (not a spoiler, you actually learn this pretty early in the book), Bryson finds a way of capturing his entire experience on the AT in a way that makes the reader laugh, groan, and sympathize with every last ache and pain.

"A Walk in the Woods" is pretty evenly split between Bryson's experience on the trail, the history of the trail, and Bryson's sarcastic commentary about everything that is happening during his adventures. Although it felt like information overkill at times, the background of the AT actually provide nice little interludes throughout the book. Bryson does his research - thoroughly - and despite presenting the information with a hefty dose of personal opinion, the history contributes helpful tidbits and anecdotes, as well as a more serious tone, to the overall story. The portions of the book that deal with Bryson's experiences and his musings on those experiences were much more...enthusiastic. They were quotable, laugh out loud hilarious, occasionally angry, and most often sarcastic. His writing is endlessly entertaining and relatable, but by the end of the book, I found myself growing impatient with his sarcasm. While his recounting of the AT was thoroughly enjoyable, there are times when he could have toned down his tongue in cheek style just a bit.

This is one of those books that grows in hilarity as you read it out loud to others, whether it's repeating a sentence or a series of paragraphs. I was dying laughing as I read parts of this book - just wait until you meet Mary Ellen. One of the things that was hard about reading this book, though, was that I read it while I was at camp, and I spent more of my time comparing my experience to his than I spent absorbing his stories. There were certain parts where this was beneficial though - who better to relate to the "gentle descent into squalor" than someone who hasn't showered for a week? This book is well worth the read, if for no other reason than to live vicariously through his experience. I'm not sure I would ever actually hike the AT (I'd never sleep at night for fear of the mountain man), but I can certainly enjoy reading about it.