I have started to read a super funny book about the woods and the hiking experience. But something is really affecting my reading experience as english is not my mother language. I remember my University days when I picked for my reading a certain author that promised to make me look very smart after reading his books. I cursed and pealed every layer of my young neurons trying to decipher what the heck was he trying to say. And with a dictionary in my hand and with a pen in another I managed to finish that reading. And I thought to myself “ well, he just wants to look smart by using so many posh words that we mortals have to translate”. Now I am able to understand that through exercise and repetition one can simply develop a higher level of skill when it comes to writing. I’m feelin’ like a Virginia Woolf is growing inside of me with every google translate click.
I am getting a milder version of this experience now, when I am reading the marvel of Bill Bryson – A walk in the woods. I am in awe and admiration for the literary skills of Bill. I mean what the heck , he is hilarious, profound and mysterious, blunt and practical , ambitious and easy going all in one book. I have finished just 100 pages yet I must tell you that the book is written in such a delicious way that you will try to contain the mental saliva going out of your brain. It takes a lot of bollocks to go on such a great long hike on the Appalachian Trail with a stranger basically, a guy he has seen 25 years ago, Stephen, who is just in as bad of a shape as Bill is. I thought these guys will quit, but well well it seems that these are tough cookies.
I believe that I will have to read this twice, with my new english words already translated on the side so I could fully enjoy the narrative. I think that this reading would not have been so great if I were to read it already translated as I know that some of the spirit of the author gets lost because of the external intervention of the translator. If I can, I prefer to read an author in his native language.
What these two are doing in this hike makes me ponder. Some find hiking in the woods a solitary, scary experience. Some find it to be healing, almost cathartic. The solitude, the danger of wild beasts, the deprivation of modern comfort, all of these can contribute to a change in oneself. I am a strong believer in the power of a rough, raw natural experience to change a person and I am so curious to see how this expedition ends for both of these fluffy doughnut munching adventurers. The book captivated me and I think that my eyes will chew the words rapidly along the pages. Minus those damn posh words hahaha.
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