TLDR:  Quick interesting read, the veracity of the subject is questionable. 

 

Okay, the good stuff first. Mr Finkel’s writing style is very easy to read and in most parts of the book you do want to keep turning the pages. I am interested in reading other books by him. He also lists all his sources and gives a reading list if you are interested in reading about solitude. 

 

Two complaints The first is around the 60% or so mark are cherrypicked quotations from famous thinkers and writers. Considering how much Socrates loved philosophical dialogues (according to Plato) I wouldn’t have thought of him as a defender of hermits. There is also the opinions from experts as to Mr Knight’s mental health. Which the author admits is of questionable worth since they did not talk to Mr Knight. 

 

The second is in no way a fault of Mr Finkel. I don’t think Mr Knight was honest with him. I don’t believe that Mr Knight survived 27 winters in snow and below freezing temperatures with no heat in his tent. I don’t believe that racoons and coyotes would not be a problem. I don’t believe with his camp being so close to people that no one would have smelled food cooking or heard him. I don’t believe that Mr Knight could walk through snowy woods on a moonless night with bad vision and leave no trace or make no noise. 

 

I also don’t buy the story that he escaped the world by stealing not just food but books, radios, watches, games, televisions, etc. Basically every time he broke into a cabin he was going on a shopping spree. I would argue that breaking into cabins was a one way conversation that Mr Knight controlled. The total shut down by the Knight family of the author was also frustrating and leaves me with a lot of questions. I wonder very much who made the decision that no family member would talk to Mr Finkel and why. 

 

I do believe that Mr Finkel did try to tell the story fairly and as truthfully as he could and did not sensationalise it. I also believe that he had a bias for Mr Knight. Which is understandable and human. I wish Mr Knight well and hope that he no longer feels the need to break into homes.

My friend had been recommending this one to me for a long time, and I understand why. The book is written by journalist Michael Finkel as he interviews and explores the life of the most dedicated ‘hermit’ in modern times. One day, Christopher Knight leaves his job, gets in his car, and drives until he reaches his home town; once there, he abandons his car in the woods, explores until he finds the perfect camp, and remains there for 27 years, only leaving to steal food for survival from nearby cabins. Until one day, when he is finally caught and arrested. It beautiful and fascinating meditation on loneliness, contentment, and craving solitude in an overwhelmingly social society. 

I really enjoyed the balance between biography and history in this book. I felt like the historical and philosophical musings genuinely enriched my ability to empathise and understand Christopher Knight. His story, both heartwarming and sad, is one I will be thinking about for a long time to come. 

My only issue with the book was its brief but important look at autism. I do believe Finkel did do his best to research autism and give a fair understanding of it, as well as how it could apply to Knight, but I did not find his final depiction to be very accurate. Though I do recognise that this was published in 2017, and research and understanding about neurodivergence has changed a lot since then.  I also felt that at some points, Finkel pushed the boundaries when it came to respecting Knight’s wishes to be left alone. 

I do still wholeheartedly recommend this book and am very glad I read it.   

This is a fascinating story. Two fascinating stories. There’s Christopher Knight, obviously. And there’s the author himself, and his need to pursue Knight’s story, to the point of what many would call harassment. But what becomes clear is that the two men see something in one another that they recognize. 

This book has given me a lot of food for thought.

The book itself is great, and it's an interesting story, but I cannot get past how even after Knight told him several times to leave him alone after he left prison, he kept showing up and consistently trampling over his boundaries. Also the hard left turn into ableism in terms of Knight's potential autism???