The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit in Around the World in 80 Books

Nov 07, 2017 Jim rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: true-crime, non-fiction, craziness

Mike Finkel didn't really have a lot to go with here. One day Chris Knight just abandoned the new auto his brother had co-signed the loan for, then just vanished into Maine's cottage country for 27 years or so. Now I can understand a fellow wanting to get away from humans, like the fellow who went up to Alaska and carved a little homestead out of the wilderness and lived thereafter in quiet and solitude. Knight's isolation was of a different sort. Knight lived in a tangle of near-inaccessible br ...more

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Jul 28, 2017 Katie rated it really liked it

Shelves: male-author, nature-outdoors, non-fiction

Christopher Knight enters the woods in rural Maine in his early twenties and lives there alone for the next 27 years, undiscovered by anyone around him. To survive, he steals from nearby cabins and camps, taking food and other necessities, all the while evading law enforcement. He is eventually caught in the midst of a burglary, arrested, and taken to jail. He meets with the author of this book and begrudgingly tells pieces of his story.

When I first heard about this book, I thought it was going Christopher Knight enters the woods in rural Maine in his early twenties and lives there alone for the next 27 years, undiscovered by anyone around him. To survive, he steals from nearby cabins and camps, taking food and other necessities, all the while evading law enforcement. He is eventually caught in the midst of a burglary, arrested, and taken to jail. He meets with the author of this book and begrudgingly tells pieces of his story.

When I first heard about this book, I thought it was going to be about a man who had excellent wilderness survival skills, that is the ability to hunt, trap, and gather food, build shelter from natural materials, and come up with all sorts of creative ways to survive in the wilderness. When I discovered in the first few pages of the book that he survived only by stealing, I immediately developed disdain for Knight. As the book went on, that started to change. Its hard to explain, but I just felt really sad for Knight. He's just this guy that can't find his place in the world and wants to be left alone. I liked the fact that he wasn't trying to make a statement about anything. He wasn't self-righteous about his lifestyle being some sort of noble path. He didn't discover any profound truths during his time in the woods. He just really liked solitude.

That being said, his presence instilled a lot of fear in people in the surrounding community. For twenty seven years, many of Knight's neighbors lived with the fear of the mysterious hermit who was breaking into cabins and taking random items, while leaving most valuables. People had these cabins as places for peace and relaxation, and Knight's presence ruined that for many residents, as they couldn't find peace of mind.

The author intersperses Knight's story with research and thoughts about solitude, loneliness, and hermits. Some of this information was interesting, but I found that I never really trusted the author. I felt like he was overly pushy with Knight at times. Knight didn't always want visitors and didn't feel like talking, and it felt like the author was pushing himself on an unwilling subject just to get a good story. I even felt a little guilty reading the book at times, because although Knight agreed to let the author write about him, it felt like it was a decision made under duress, and not what Knight really wanted. It felt like I was given an unfair glimpse into the private life of someone who really wanted his life to remain private. He is an incredibly intriguing character, and I understand why people want to know so much more about him, I also just want to let him be. ...more

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Dec 08, 2018 Julie rated it really liked it

I liked it! I’ve read that for others it was a bit of a miss but I found the setting and the stranger fascinating and couldn’t wait to hear more. I listened in audio and enjoyed the added atmosphere that the narrator’s gravelly voice brought to the experience.

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Mar 22, 2018 Andy Plonka rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: src

An extraordinary tale of a very unique indinidual.

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Mar 28, 2025 Jillian rated it it was amazing

Okay, this story is amazing. Interesting, emotional, philosophical, funny, heartbreaking and well written. I absolutely loved everything about it this, and highly recommend it for people who like reading bio/memoir, anything about philosophy, nature, or meditation. Wow. Just wow.

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