Stranger in the Forest: Thoughts

The story of Eric Hansen's journey through the jungles of Borneo initially sounded a lot more incredible than it actually turned out to be. In my opinion, Hansen was not an explorer or an adventurer. He was not an anthropologist or a naturalist. He was just some guy who thought he would make a name for himself by going on a difficult journey, and get famous writing a book about it.

That being said, there were some redeeming elements to his story. The people of Borneo, especially the Penan people that he traveled with, were amazing in their physical capabilities and in their sense of community and sharing. I was very impressed with Hansen's descriptions of the peselai (the long journey) that the jungle men, and sometimes women, would undertake. They would leave their homes, often for months or years at a time, and would travel through the jungle on foot. Often they went seeking work on the other side of the island and would sacrifice years of their lives to bring back wealth and honor for their families. Hansen met one group of travelers just as they were returning from their peselai, when they were 4 days away from home after being away for over two years. One man, Pa Lampung, was carrying an old-fashioned Singer sewing machine, mounted on a cast-iron base inside a hardwood cabinet. He had hiked over 80 miles through the jungle with that heavy contraption on his back... a gift for his wife as he returned home from his long journey.

I was disappointed that Hansen seemed so underwhelmed with all of the natural wonders around him. The back cover of the book described the amazing life found in the jungle such as jumping snakes, pigs that climb trees, and mushrooms that glow in the dark at night. Sadly, the back cover of the book said just as much about these amazing things as the actual text. Hansen seemed much less interested in the wonders of the jungle than he was in all things relating to sexual pleasure, such as jungle people's methods of contraception. It was actually kind of pathetic.

The one part of the book that kept my attention was the episode when Hansen was traveling alone through the jungle and the people mistook him for bali saleng, the evil spirit that traveled alone through the jungle collecting people's blood for offerings. Several times he was surrounded by groups of men that threatened his life because they thought he was this evil spirit. The thing that blew my mind was the arrogance and stupidity of Hansen. He was repeatedly warned by the people not to travel by himself through the jungle and he never listened to them. Even wise elders from the villages he visited, men that he greatly respected, told him not to travel alone, and he thought their fears were just ridiculous superstition. These chapters just served to illustrate even more that Hansen was just out there trying to prove something.

What could have been an amazing adventure story turned out to be just one disappointment after another. I think it's time for National Geographic to find replacement on their list for this one.

My rating: 4 out of 10

June's Book: Stranger in the Forest

Eric Hansen was the first westerner ever to walk across the island of Borneo. Completely cut off from the outside world for seven months, he traveled nearly 1,500 miles with the small bands of nomadic hunters known as Penan. Beneath the rain forest canopy, they trekked through a hauntingly beautiful jungle where snakes and frogs fly, pigs climb trees, giant carnivorous plants eat mice, and mushrooms glow at night.

At once a modern classic of travel literature and a gripping adventure story, Stranger in the Forest provides a rare and intimate look at the vanishing way of life of one of the last surviving groups of rain forest dwellers. Hansen's absorbing, and often chilling, account of his exploits is tempered with the humor and humanity that prompted the Penan to take him in to their world and to share their secrets.

(Summary from Goodreads.com)