Book Review: Walking with the Comrades by Arundhati Roy

This work by Arundhati Roy draws serious attention on the ongoing rebel movement in India. Maoist guerillas are waging war against the brutal and suppressive Indian government which is adamant on furthering the interests of multi-million dollar corporations.

Roy writes about the time she spent with the guerillas on the frontline fighting the government soldiers. She writes briefly about the history of the Naxalites, different personalities of the movement, her life in the forests with the rebels, role of women, makeshift schools for children, and about poverty and malnutrition among the guerillas. Roy believes that the government wants more minerals, clearing of forest lands to pave the way for mining companies, dams and large corporations. She leaves the reader with an important question: whether global capitalism would also engulf this part of the world?

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Book Review: Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

Into the wild is based on Christopher Johnson McCandless’s real story. After completing his university degree he decided to live in the wild. He gave $25,000 of his savings to a charity. In April 1992 he hitchhiked to Alaska and moved north of Mt. Kinley. During this journey he had to abandon his car, burn his wallet cash and experience a new way of living. He chose this life.

Many writers/commentators believe McCandless to be mentally unstable whereas others consider his strange behavior to be nonconformist in many ways. As the maverick grew up he came to know about his father’s earlier marriage which disturbed him to a great degree. Moving on to hostel life he became more detached from home. He did not write letters that often. He seemed disenchanted. But he always remained close to his sister and cared for her.

Moreover McCandless did not want his family to know about his whereabouts. That was the reason he changed his named. During the trip Chris read Tolstoy, Jack London and Henry David Thoreau. He did part time jobs to gather funds for his last Alaskan expedition. McCandless ended up in in an abandoned bus. He hunted with his rifle but game was short in number. He ate roots of different plants. Some of these roots are believed to have caused his death as they turned out to be toxic.

Four months after his death, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter. His sad demise caused great sorrow for his family. Later his parents visited the bus where he had died. The writer of this book initially wrote an article on his death and later developed a book which we now know as Into the Wild.

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