Walden, Henry David Thoreau, 1854 - This is Thoreau’s two years of self-imposed exile as a social experiment between 1845-1847, where he built his own cabin in the woods of Walden pond near Concord, Massachusetts, documented at times like a journal and at times as poetry of musings and at times as political satire. He lives a life of simplicity in a stripped-down, self-sustainable manner (cultivating his own beans and potatoes), with bare necessities and being almost one with nature, drinking physically and spiritually from Walden pond.
What made it a very difficult read though was Thoreau’s extensive descriptions of nature in an archaic fashion, replete with obscure references and from timeless classic literature of the world from the Odyssey, Confucius and the Vedas. I thought Thoreau’s philosophy of life as well was pretty similar to Stoicism.
Though the language is very old-fashioned, the ideas are still very relevant and the deterioration of objectives and ideals have only accelerated past the industrial revolution and men still remain slaves to their occupation and life-styles, each feeding off the other, neglecting their connect with nature and how simple life can be, if one lets it to be.
“If a man does not keep pace with his companions, it is perhaps because he hears a different drummer”. 8/10