A True Story of Ruin and Survival

It’s been a long while since I’ve given up on a book, but 90 pages in, I just couldn’t take this one anymore. As always, I follow the “100 pages minus your age” rule before giving up on a book, and since I’m older than 10, that means I gave this book more than a fair shake.

Geography and Survival

I purchased this book while traveling and was excited to read it, because it hit on two of my favorite styles of reading. First, I love reading geographically, that is, choosing books about the places I happen to be visiting. I found and began this book while in Utah, which is the rough vicinity of the wilderness into which Craig Childs and his buddy Dirk chose to lose themselves.

Second, I also love survival books. It’s perhaps my favorite genre. I love books where people are stuck in places not of their own choosing, books like Piers Paul Read’s Alive (1974), Alfred Lansing’s Endurance (1959), or C.F. McGlashen’s The History of the Donner Party (1880). I also love books where people are stuck in a place because they went somewhere dangerous and one mistake kept them there a whole lot longer than anticipated. Some books that fall into this category (in my opinion) are Aaron Ralston’s Between a Rock and a Hard Place (2004), Steven Callahan’s Adrift (1986), and Joe Simpson’s Touching the Void (1988).

I’m not much of an adventure hiker myself, though I do love the outdoors and studying about survival. I like to think I could survive a bit longer than most—at least on paper, though it’s hard to know. In this book, Craig and Dirk hope to visit and explore one of America’s final frontiers, the arid landscape that sits upon a Reservation, inaccessible to the public unless welcomed by an old-timer Native American. The men go through the hoops of honoring the old man in the traditional way and proving themselves as men committed to a whole lot more than not leaving a trace. They secure permission to explore the land and set out on a two-week adventure, moderately prepared and open to whatever the land wants to teach them.

A Writing Style I Did Not Enjoy

The premise of the book is sound, but what honestly turned me off was Childs’ writing. As of this book’s publication, he’d already published two other books about nature and was “a frequent contributor to National Public Radio.” He’s a proven and published writer, sure, but man! His style is not my own. I’ve got three reasons for saying so.

First, I think he’s way too flowery and introspective. He includes these massive, poetic introductions to their every turn in the canyons, weaving words together into a tapestry of nonsense that in small bites might be wonderful but in such large doses is nauseating. Here’s just one example that came towards the end of my reading, a passage about not leaving a trace:

You can be named and hunted by your tracks. I do not want to be judged among the healthy, rational citizens of my species. I am something other, a strange animal hiding, prints found only in the momentary flick and scratch. My movements are those of a desert golem. (86)

It’s not bad writing. It’s gifted, but it’s also incessant, this rhythm and flow nonstop throughout the book. It’s like he doesn’t quite speak English, only this otherworldly form of it that screams “pretentious” and exhausts me.

Second, I think he includes far too many details to be plausible. You’re writing a book about an adventure you had? Awesome. Include every detail you can. Keep it sensual, letting the reader see, hear, smell, and touch the world you’re exploring. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s the only way to write. But…make sure you’re writing about things you actually see, hear, smell, and touch! Childs records moments and scenes with such precision that I know he couldn’t possibly be telling the truth—instead, he’s painting over foggy memories with details collected from a lifetime of adventuring, not from the moment they actually happened.

Third, Craig’s recollections of their dialogue are disingenuous. To be clear, I’ve never had this reaction to recalled conversation in any other book I’ve read (and I’ve read a few), but when Craig quotes his and Dirk’s conversations verbatim, I don’t believe them. Maybe it’s the fact that he recalls these conversations not as they actually happened but instead as they fit into the grand scheme of his book. Both men have the same voice, that of sages, like two ancient Native American chiefs sitting on the peak of a bluff decrying the woes of the modern age. No one talks like these men do in real life, especially while huffing up a canyon wall. And whereas Dirk’s voice and character is portrayed as representing order, Craig’s represents chaos. Thus the words he records must match his theme. These representations might be somewhat true, but not as consistently as Craig depicts it here. I simply can’t believe what he writes.

Also involved in this topic of disingenuous quotations is the unbelievable detail Craig gives to Dirk’s recollections. He writes like we are there, which is great…in fiction; but he also writes like he was there, which he wasn’t, which is dishonest in nonfiction. Again, it’s a writing style I just can’t stomach.

A Worldview I Don’t Share

Another reason I chose to put this book down is that his worldview differs so far from my own. Normally that’s fine: I read tons of books that come from differing worldviews, and I generally approach them with a mind to learn (and discern). Not a problem. But in this book, I just didn’t feel comfortable in the world that the author creates. Yes, “the world the author creates,” which is not something that’s supposed to happen in a non-fiction work!

This is an incredibly spiritual book, but more in the realms of Native American spiritism and nature worship than anything—“animism” if it needs a name. It’s Mother Earth stuff which I don’t hold to. Judging by how Craig Childs describes it, this adventure he and Dirk go on is nothing more than a two-week hot-yoga session, but without a water break. It’s not something I need in my life—and so I’ve given up.

Conclusion

Why review a book I didn’t finish and apparently hated? No matter what book I pick up, I believe it deserves a fair hearing. Authors invest themselves entirely in the works they produce, and I always want to give them the credit they deserve. I might not like what Craig Childs has written, but I respect him for writing it! Still, I review books because people read the reviews—whether before purchasing a title or after having read it, people are curious to know what others (including me) think. Sometimes I’m completely off my rocker, but more often than not, readers agree with my sentiments and are looking for validation that they’re not off theirs.

As always, whether you agree or disagree, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this book or others on my site. Book recommendations are also welcome. Happy reading!

©2024 E.T.