Ken Smith
Nonfiction 2023 | 266 pages
Something was odd about the writing in this book, but it took me until I finished it and did some research to understand. As you near the end of the book, Ken Smith has included verbatim many of his journal entries, and he, quite literally, cannot write. Incomplete sentences, sentences without verbs or prepositions, incorrect punctuation. I was not able to determine if English is his second language, or if he was uneducated or ... ? And so, he hired a ghostwriter, Will Millard. In the translation from Ken's diaries to Millard's writing, much was lost. Millard does not have the passion or heart that Smith has. I wish he'd hired Millard to write the book as a biography about Smith, and incorporated more of Ken Smith's fascinating, if frustrating, actually diary entries.
Now that I have presented my pretentious opinion on writing, as though I actually know what I'm talking about, let's get to the meat of Smith's life story.
This is actually a very interesting book! Ken Smith becomes a hermit, and lives in Canada and in the Scottish woods by himself for some 40 years. No surprise, what he learns about flora, fauna, wood, lochs, weather, eating, and survival is astounding! My favorite part is when he builds a cabin for himself, based upon the principles employed by Dick Proenneke in building his cabin at Twin Lakes in Lake Clark National Park. I had the privilege of visiting Proenneke's cabin, so this chapter was so real and tangible to me.
You will learn a great deal about the immense challenges of living off the grid. It takes considerable physical and emotional strength to keep one's cabin warm, to feed and clothe one's self, to be with the much desired peace and solitude, to have no access to services of any kind without a 7-mile walk in one direction, or longer. And Smith is aware, present, and introspective in his simple life.
The Way of the Hermit is being made into a movie, which I do not to see. I suspect it will move even further from the truth of Smith's utterly fascinating life.
Yes, read this book, for its content and passion, and do not worry about the writing. Maybe you will love even that! (And, by the way, if you read the soft-cover, there are two sets of photographs. The first set includes some spoilers, so I suggest you skip past these photos until you reach the end of the book.)
December 2024