tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-957720453833964079.post3438311421988879186..comments2023-08-24T09:20:50.033-07:00Comments on Long Pine Limited: Wild, Cheryl Strayed's Memoir of Walking the Pacific Crest Trail from Mojave to the Columbia RiverPhilip Deaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08332104632865537879noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-957720453833964079.post-17814512118581377182015-03-09T22:41:59.102-07:002015-03-09T22:41:59.102-07:00If you're looking for something worth talking ...If you're looking for something worth talking about, try Fall on Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14338634107516470049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-957720453833964079.post-11049107729915950152015-03-09T22:36:59.854-07:002015-03-09T22:36:59.854-07:00I don't discuss books to this extent that I ha...I don't discuss books to this extent that I haven't read. I didn't address the quality of her writing because my complaint is with the value of the content, which, unbeknownst to most readers, is lacking.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14338634107516470049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-957720453833964079.post-12019793565410290652015-02-03T10:34:26.681-08:002015-02-03T10:34:26.681-08:00I'm almost sure you didn't read it, but in...I'm almost sure you didn't read it, but instead discussed it with people.Philip Deaverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08332104632865537879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-957720453833964079.post-18259637897536518912015-01-24T12:42:02.005-08:002015-01-24T12:42:02.005-08:00Other than being a skillful writer, I was not impr...Other than being a skillful writer, I was not impressed by her story. A very dear friend of mine (going back 24 years) hiked the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada a few summers ago. He actually hiked the entire thing, though. He didn’t skip large portions of it the way Strayed did then claim to have hiked the entire distance. Also, he said the trail was packed with female hikers traveling alone and it wasn’t shocking considering the first person he ever met to have hiked it was a female and that was fifteen years ago. According to him—and a great number of people he met on the trail who have read her story—she likely embellished and fabricated a considerable amount of it for entertainment purposes. But most upsetting is the way she put herself on a pedestal detracting from the praise due to the great many strong women who are hiking this trail alone every year and have been for decades. In short, it may be good fiction, but it’s far from qualifying as non-fiction the way she intended, so it may need to be interpreted through a different literary lens. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14338634107516470049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-957720453833964079.post-83480606271115429432015-01-16T13:14:57.580-08:002015-01-16T13:14:57.580-08:00I read Wild last year, and I was just telling some...I read Wild last year, and I was just telling someone this week how great it is and in particular mentioning the way Strayed deftly wove in flashbacks.(I am, in fact, often telling other writers about this book and especially her skill with the flashbacks.) The flashbacks came into the hike storyline exactly at the right time and seamlessly--much easier said than done--so that as her that story moved forward it deepened, too. She created a layered structure that made her story a psychological and spiritual journey as well as a physical one. Meanwhile, the energy of the book never flags. Her language is fierce and direct. The movie was wonderful, but such a small chunk of the reading experience.Mary Ann de Stefanohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12351251332984901525noreply@blogger.com