The Stranger in the Woods

[Potential spoilers]
This book made me stop to think about different people. Some people really just want to be alone and left alone. Is that a default because it's different from what we think is “normal” behavior? Is it participating in society? Is that a requirement for life? If Chris had the means, would he have been more like a hunter, gathering his own food, instead of having to steal it? I think about if things had turned out differently for him. Is there a way that he could have “checked out” and stayed checked out, without having to commit the crimes that he did in order to stay that way.

I'd have been with the group of people who thought that he should not have been prosecuted. If there had been a way to allow him to go back to his “camp”, keep him supplied with all he needed (his family?) and allow him the privacy, and seclusion that he wanted, I would have really liked for that to happen for him.

Reading all this has intrigued me, and has set me to want to read more about him. Although, I don't think is probably much more. I think he gave this author all that he could/would give. Maybe in the end, his church lady friend would have had more. But I don't think she would have been “willing” to share. At least not by indications we received as readers.

It's just fascinating. Makes one think.

“Solitude is the profoundest fact of the human condition,” wrote the Mexican poet and Nobel laureate Octavio Paz.
“Ultimately, and precisely in the deepest and most important matters, we are unspeakably alone,” wrote the Austro-German poet Rainer Maria Rilke.

“Thoreau was an amateur” says Christopher Knight, who lived alone in the forests of Maine for 27 years, and I must agree. To remove yourself so thoroughly from society is a strange achievement, and it's more real for all that the world that Knight shunned is so much more like my own than that of Walden. Very well researched and thoughtful book about a true stoic.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It was well written. I did not know this book was based on a true story when I began reading. I would recommend to others.

Simply fascinating.

This was a fascinating book to read. Hearing about this man's experience as a “hermit” was deeply interesting and compelling.

I was bothered throughout by the reporting methods utilized at times. It felt like the author was harassing Knight and his family at times. So while he did get a good story out of Knight, it felt unethical how he pursued it at times.

Entertaining in the beginning but also full of hermit history, meditative thoughts, and the philosophical aspects of going back to nature. Instead, of asking why leave society, a hermit asks why stay.

An empathetic and fascinating portrait of a man whose story is stranger than fiction. As someone who appreciates solitude, I also enjoyed the varied digressions about historical hermits, religious traditions of retreat, the spiritual value of solitude, and the thoughts of poets and philosophers.

As a fan of post-apocalyptic sci-fi I had my eyes on this story for quite a while. Though it is a non-fiction tale, i felt like this would fit right in that alley - and it did.

How long would you last in the wilderness alone, while about 5 minutes away from your camp, society presses on. 27 Years? How do you reintegrate with society after something like that?

I really enjoyed this book. After the EMP hits and wipes everything out, we'll all be on the same level as Christopher Knight.

Great read - fascinating examination of an unique person. I enjoyed the book very much. I think Finkel did a great job of telling the story of how Christopher Knight retreated to the woods for 27 years. Hoping that I get the chance to discuss this book with other readers.

My feeling after reading the book is that Knight had had enough of the societal responsibilities of the world. He chose to retreat from what society expects of people. But his choice to live off of the people who do follows society's expectations seemed to be hypocritical. I would have respected his choice to retreat if he had found ways to provide for himself. In the long run, I feel he was lazy and selfish. I am still amazed that he survived 27 winters in Maine. I am still perplexed by the fact that in 27 years he only spoke 1 word to another person. I wonder how he perceives his choices.

Really fascinating account - as I finish reading the book, I feel like I know more about Christopher Knight, but don't truly understand him. Something about the author's reporting style made me a slight bit uncomfortable.....but I couldn't stop reading. Definitely a compelling read.