Black Heart on the Appalachian Trail

Black Heart on the Appalachian Trail is full of unexpected characters on a journey none thought they would take. It is a dark, honest novel where Simone Decker’s theory that each human is born with a flaw in their DNA is raised in every chapter. Are people just running through a genetic program they cannot alter and that makes them do what they do? Is change even possible?<br /><br />Newly released prisoner Taz Chavis is ready to reject the old patterns that led to his spending time in prison. A book he read about the Appalachian Trail forms the idea that he could do it. The death of his father and a small inheritance gives him the means.<br /><br />People around the trail, those living along the edges blend with the thru-hikers. The owners of a B&amp;B go through hell and back while hikers pitch tents at the end of their lawn. A couple in their later years are thrown for not one loop, but several. A young couple set up rigid boundaries of what will and will not happen in their future in regards to having children. Some people in these stories accept change, some demand it but they all face fears and insecurities with verve.<br /><br />I’m not a hiker/walker/trail person. A few years ago my husband, his brother and two friends went through part of the S.T.S. in Pennsylvania. I didn’t understand the appeal, but after reading this novel, I now have a sense of what seeing a trail to the end means. As Taz, Simone and Richard approached the Katahdin summit, I was just as anxious as they were. What would happen at the end? What comes after the long journey of sublime sensations? I finished the book last night. It’s a book I hated to see end, and one I’ll read again. I know of no higher praise than that.

fairly unique novel of thru hiking the appalachian trail, many times done as a pilgrimage or attempt to drastic change in the individual, much like the camino de santiago del compestelo trails in spain, though of course more "americany" and "back-to-naturey" in n. amer version, with no big ass pile of a catedral at the end. the end of the appalachian trail is a big ass mountain in maine, katahdin <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="http://www.summitpost.org/katahdin/150219">http://www.summitpost.org/katahdin/15...</a> <br />but these pilgrims here we follow, are coke head ex-cons, a serial murderer, and a drunk blackfoot white indian, among others. so a fun and dark story. author forrester has thru hiked all 3 of the country crossing trails in usa, a feat in itself that is way overboard and unique. for armchair hikers there are these great books too <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/2615285.On_the_Beaten_Path_An_Appalachian_Pilgrimage" title="On the Beaten Path An Appalachian Pilgrimage by Robert Alden Rubin" rel="noopener">On the Beaten Path: An Appalachian Pilgrimage</a> and <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/250261.Walking_Home_A_Woman_s_Pilgrimage_on_the_Appalachian_Trail" title="Walking Home A Woman's Pilgrimage on the Appalachian Trail by Kelly Winters" rel="noopener">Walking Home: A Woman's Pilgrimage on the Appalachian Trail</a> and the continental divide trail <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/814623.Scraping_Heaven" title="Scraping Heaven by Cindy Ross" rel="noopener">Scraping Heaven</a> and the pacific crest trail <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/2767943.The_Cactus_Eaters_How_I_Lost_My_Mind_and_Almost_Found_Myself_on_the_Pacific_Crest_Trail" title="The Cactus Eaters How I Lost My Mind—and Almost Found Myself—on the Pacific Crest Trail by Dan White" rel="noopener">The Cactus Eaters: How I Lost My Mind—and Almost Found Myself—on the Pacific Crest Trail</a>

Black Heart on the Appalachian Trail by T.J. Forrester<br /><br />Taz Chavis is unfortunately following in his father’s footsteps, as his dad was addicted to pills and Taz to coke. He decides to change his life by thru hiking the Appalachian Trail which starts in Georgia and goes all the way to Maine. On the way he meets fellow hikers that are also trying to start over or make something end.<br /><br />This is the total opposite of Bill Bryson’s Walk In the Woods as these seem to be the kind of people who would be hunting Bill down instead of helping him make his way along the trail. It was a good quick read a bit on the dark side which I seem to enjoy, although it doesn't make me want to hike the trail anytime soon.<br />

I think I might have liked the book a bit more if one of the reviews on the back didn't cast it as making The Road by Cormac McCarthy seem like hallucegenic cotton candy. It set me up with certain expectations for a book that this book simply wasn't. Forrester has a great story with strong writing, especially in the little vignettes of some characters that are really peripheral to the story at best. There were a few details that probably brought my rating down from a 4 to 3 but discussion would require spoilers! Good read, overall, though not really as dark of a story as I initially expected.

Gripping but ultimately too dark and bleak for my taste. The pace was quick and so the book was just the right length.

didnt finish. none of the character's were likable, especially the mc who talks in monotonous, boring present tense. the setting didnt juxtapose against the story well at all. the events and actions didnt make sense. the author obviously has walked the trail and it just seemed like this book was a way to tell people that he had done it. i dont recommend this book

I’d recommend Black Heart on the Appalachian Trail by T.J. Forrester to anyone who enjoys a gritty, dark, compelling tale. And to anyone who ever questions whether or not they have free will.<br /><br />The Appalachian Trail runs from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Katahdin, Maine; 2,160 miles total. It takes five to seven months on average to complete; people usually start in March or April and finish in late summer or fall. Hikers who attempt to complete the trail in one season are called “thru hikers.” Some hikers even continue into Canada and follow the 1,900 mile “International Appalachian Trail,” from Maine to the Appalachian Mountains at Belle Isle, New Foundland, and Labrador.<br /><br />The Appalachian Trail is relatively safe but not without potential dangers, including: bears, snakes, wild boars, disease, poison ivy (especially in the southern states), extreme weather conditions, and crime (there are instances of murder).<br /><br />In Black Heart, “hikers are dying along the trail, their broken bodies splayed on the rocks below. Are these falls accidental, the result of carelessness, or is something more sinister at work?”<br /><br />Taz Chavis, newly released from prison, is certain that a hike along the Appalachian Trial will put enough distance from his toxic, drug fueled past. “On the street friends were like Styrofoam cups. Some got crushed, others blew out of sight.”<br /><br />Scientist Simone Decker requires more than a thru hike to diminish her demons and she knows this deep within her black heart, but she’s willing to try anything. She’s comforted by the theory that “one secret of the human race is that every person is born with a genetic flaw that leads to his fall.” Because if this theory is fact, then her behaviors are beyond her control.<br /><br />Richard Nelson, a Blackfoot Indian, is a free-spirited child stuck in a man’s body. This is his last hurrah before he returns to his life of mediocrity. His advice to Taz is: “White man, if you want to get laid on the trail, you best come up with some New Age shit mixed with nature.”<br /><br />Black Heart explores the question, “Do people have free will?” Some people, like Simone are adamant that people don’t, Taz is hopeful that people do, and Richard isn’t sure either way.<br /><br />“I am Taz Chavis, and I plan on living a good life after the trail.” Like Taz, I’m hopeful.<br /><br />“I wear the chain I forged in life….I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it.”<br />― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

Black Heart on the Appalachian Trail is the story of Taz Chavis finding himself. Recently released from prison, and after traveling to his hometown to settle his father’s estate, Taz sets off on a through hike of the Appalachian Trail to leave his life in the gutter behind.<br /><br />The Editorial Reviews compare Forrester to Daniel Woodrell and Cormac McCarthy, which is unfortunate. Forrester suffers for it. It doesn’t have the deep sense of place in the hills like Woodrell’s works set in the Ozarks or McCarthy’s works set in Appalachia. The AT isn’t a part of the hills, it just happens to pass through. Forrester does do a good job capturing the unique culture of the AT, but it’s given too short shrift.<br /><br />This would be less problematic if the characters and the plot could carry the story, but unfortunately they do not. Unlike Tolstoy’s unhappy families, Forrester’s unhappy couples are all unhappy in the same way. He rotates freely among POVs, but every POV has the same voice. Nor is Black Heart on the Appalachian Trail a page-turning thriller. It falls into that uncomfortable space between success in the high arts of literature and success in the low arts of literature.<br /><br />Black Heart on the Appalachian Trail isn’t bad by any means. But it’s mediocre-to-good at best in its major components, and what it does well it does too little of. I felt like we barely brushed on the AT, on Taz’s personal journey, etc.

More story collection than novel, the stories are loosely connected through references to the Appalachian Trail. The most compelling for me are the seven tracking Taz Chavis’ journey along the Appalachian Trail. Forrester writes Taz in a distinctive first person with vivid raw details that ring true. Taz is a fascinating character with a criminal past trying to escape an addiction to drugs and a fear that his genes and his obsessions have doomed him. He sets out on the trail after colorful encounters with a one-legged woman and his girlfriend Roxie, both representative of the life he wants to leave behind. He meets the intriguing Simone and Richard along the way. I would have preferred to meet Simone initially through Taz as I wasn’t as convinced by her POV as I was by Taz’s. And while the stories involving other characters Taz never meets are unusual and well-written, they felt like strange detours from his more interesting journey. The tone throughout is dark, yet strangely hopeful, and the stories are full of surprises. A highly entertaining read.

Things to like about this book: its length; colorful, often over-the-top, characters; a variety of ages and situations are represented; the setting just lends itself to good characterization. I grew fond of the main protagonist, Taz Chavis, and was rooting for him to stay focused on his goal of completing the trail.<br /><br />Some problematic areas: heavy drug use and crass language (can we just find another word for crotch already?). When I say "crass," please know I am not a prude. But the language used to describe some things just seemed so, well, SIMPLE, that I really just wonder if I've read too much Nathaniel Hawthorne to be able to enjoy a regular-ass book. My BIG beef with this is that the "reveal" does not get the gravity it deserves. The rising action is meh, and that's about it. I had it figured out very early on, but I wanted A SHOW for that climax, and I didn't get it.<br /><br /><br /><br />