The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel

 

Summary (from the publisher): Many people dream of escaping modern life. Most will never act on it--but in 1986, twenty-year-old Christopher Knight did just that when he left his home in Massachusetts, drove to Maine, and disappeared into the woods. He would not have a conversation with another person for the next twenty-seven years.

Drawing on extensive interviews with Knight himself, journalist Michael Finkel shows how Knight lived in a tent in a secluded encampment, developing ingenious ways to store provisions and stave off frostbite during the winters. A former alarm technician, he stealthily broke into nearby cottages for food, books, and supplies, taking only what he needed but sowing unease in a community plagued by his mysterious burglaries. Since returning to the world, he has faced unique challenges--and compelled us to reexamine our assumptions about what makes a good life. By turns riveting and thought-provoking, The Stranger in the Woods gives us a deeply moving portrait of a man determined to live his own way.

Review: In 1986, twenty-year-old Christopher Knight drove as far as he could into the woods of Maine, then threw his keys on the dash, got out, and walked into the woods. He would live in the Maine woods and not have another conversation for another twenty-seven years. Known as a shadowy presence for his break-ins searching for food, books, and supplies, he was known in the small Maine community as the hermit for years. When he was finally caught breaking in for food, the author was able to interview him extensively to discuss his motives, how he survived, and what it was like living alone in nature for nearly three decades. 

Apparently one of the sole encounters Christopher had in all his years in the woods was a chance encounter in the woods with a hiker in the mid-1990s. Apparently, he said "hi," about the only word he uttered in all the years he was in the woods (22). But he was a voracious reader and also loved listening to the radio. While his seclusion was not pure (he was a thief, relying on others to survive), but "speaking a total of one word and never touching anyone else, Christopher Knight, you could argue, is the most solitary known person in all of human history" (38). 

Perhaps most remarkably, obsessed with avoiding detection, he never lit a fire in all the years he survived through Maine winters. He obsessively concealed his campsite and refused to leave camp after snowfall, worried about leaving tracks. Instead, he would bulk up in the fall, burrow down in his tent, and use stolen propane tanks to melt snow for drinking water. 

Finkel spends a great deal of time contemplating Christopher's life in the woods and relating it to other famously solitary people and practices throughout history. No grand event really preceded Christopher's flight into nature. He was from a private and solitary family. The choice was not premediated. He felt at peace and most himself in the woods and so he stayed. For years, he was able to focus all his time and energy on just living. He was honest and deeply ashamed for having stolen so many times over the years once caught and confronted. He only ever took trivial items and tried to minimize damage, but he obviously alarmed residents, many of whom felt like he robbed them of their peace in their own homes. 

Prickly and standoffish, it seems a wonder that the author succeeded in getting anything out of Christopher. It's hard not to wonder how his life has progressed and if he has stayed a part of typical society or once again retreated into the wild. A truly fascinating book about a life that many of us could not begin to contemplate.  

Stars: 5