Title: Idealistic start with an abandoned goal - a metaphor for the unsuccessful hiker
Product review: Read chapter one and was thoroughly engaged. I set out on the journey to read this book like an idealistic hiker approaching the AT. Found myself laughing out loud at Bryson's interaction with characters along the trail before reaching the Smokies and "going off trail.". After that I feel as though the whole book lost it's purpose. Instead of intriguing interactions on the trail I got pop shot critiques of towns along the way. I get the feeling that Bryson only returned to the trail out of contractual obligation as his writing went from wanderlust to drudgery. The whole book is a metaphor for all those who start well and lose sight of their destination early on. I read the whole book. Didn't skip sections because they were less than expected. And like Bryson, when I reached the end of the journey I was relieved to get off the trail that he constructed. Disappointing.
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