This was the first book that I read in a book club. We met for about 3 hours and spend the entire 3 hours lambasting the main character. What an annoying, boring, self-involved book.
I have no idea why this book has been given such accolades. Oprah's book club? Really? I am certain there are so many other wonderful memoirs that truly provide insight into the human condition, demonstrating what is beautiful about humanity and how experiences truly shape you.This book, however, provided no real self-reflection on the part of the narrator. She never took an honest look at herself to see exactly how selfish she was. Revealingly, many members of my book club failed to even believe the narrator when she expressed even a scintilla of remorse which shows how much this book failed in what it was meant to be.
For a book on the shorter side, it felt way too long. I think it was unsure what it wanted to be. Her experiences on the trail were of the most interest to me, yet she did not provide enough detail or suspense to make those scenes interesting. Time jumped often and before I knew it she was done with her trek. If you were more interested in her emotional journey, perhaps that was slightly more satisfying but most of her inner dialogue was repetitive and mind-numbing.
I would avoid this one even if you are a fan of memoirs. If this was to be the first memoir you read, I would avoid it like the plague. I have it 1 1/2 stars because there is one particular scene that was well-written and meaningful.
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