When I first clicked on the trailer for the new film Wild, I was shocked to see Reese Witherspoon enacting the novel I had spent countless hours reading on the Ubahn in Berlin this summer. An enjoying, but imperfect novel (in my opinion), Wild is a travel memoir that focuses on Cheryl Strayed's personal journey and transformation as she embarks on a treacherous (and life changing) hike along the Pacific Coast Trail. I read this novel directly upon finishing Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods, a significantly less-intense but incredibly witty and well-written tail of his own hiking adventures along the Appellation Trail. I was concerned the movie would fall helpless short of the (largely intrinsic) journey Strayed goes through. To my surprise, the film complimented the novel well, bringing vivid imagery and a more direct focus (on her mother's death) to the forefront. As with any book-turned-movie, things will be left out, but Wild managed t at least offer hints of the pieces they failed to include. In a broader sense, I am ecstatic about what this means for the travel writing community. It is a beautiful day when Hollywood embraces my genre and gives travel writing a promotional unveiling. Who knows - maybe one day, my own life story will be up there on the big screen, and I'll sit back and watch my own adventures. |
1 Comment
|
AlisonKarleneTravel, write, love life. Archives
April 2015
Categories
All
|