The Hiking Book from Hell - by Are Kalvø (Paperback)

About the Book

"Jim Gaffigan meets Cheryl Strayed in this blisteringly funny memoir about the call of the wild, from one of Scandinavia's biggest comedians. Sometime around his forties, Are Kalv² starts losing his friends ... to the mountains. Friends who used to meet him at the pub are now hiking and skiing every weekend, and when they do show up, all they talk about is feeling at one with nature (without a hint of irony). When Are realizes he's the only person who hasn't posted a selfie on a mountain, he starts to wonder: does he have it all wrong? To find out, Are buys some ridiculously expensive gear and heads into the woods.The result of his sardonic trek is at once a smart and funny take-down of outdoors culture, and a reluctant surrender to nature's undeniable pull. An adventure, a comedy, and a tragedy, The Hiking Book from Hell is destined to become a nature writing (and nature hating) classic"--

Book Synopsis

For fans of Bill Bryson and David Sedaris comes an anti-nature memoir that will resonate with anyone who would rather stay inside with a book than venture into the mountains, from one of Scandinavia's biggest comedians.

"A smart, funny and honest exposéeacute; of the cult of the outdoors, from the sublime to the ridiculous."-Foreword Reviews

Sometime around his forties, Are Kalvøoslash; starts losing his friends... to the mountains. Friends who used to meet him at the pub are now hiking and skiing every weekend, and when they do show up, all they talk about is feeling at one with nature (without a hint of irony). When Are realizes he's the only person who hasn't posted a selfie on a mountain, he starts to wonder: does he have it all wrong?

To find out, Are buys some ridiculously expensive gear and heads into the woods. The result of his sardonic trek is at once a smart and funny take-down of outdoors culture, and a reluctant surrender to nature's undeniable pull. An adventure, a comedy, and a tragedy, The Hiking Book from Hell is destined to become a nature writing (and nature hating) classic.

Review Quotes

"The Hiking Book from Hell is a smart, funny, and honest exposéeacute; of the cult of the outdoors, from the sublime to the ridiculous."
-Foreword Reviews

"It takes a uniquely talented satirist to hold a mirror to our very serious hobbies and point out that they are actually kind of ridiculous, but Kalvøoslash; is able to do so in such a way to make anyone chuckle. He's just that talented."
--Jason Hayes, humor writer

"The Hiking Book From Hell offers exactly what everyone wants in a reading experience. There's adventure. There's bad weather. There's philosophy. There's shopping. But mostly there's the lively wit of Are Kalvø."
--J. Maarten Troost, author of The Sex Lives of Cannibals

"Startlingly insightful and all-too-relatable. If you hike, buy this book. I could not stop laughing."
--Diana Helmuth, author of How to Suffer Outside

"A funny and relatable memoir about the uncanny and eventually irresistible pull of the great outdoors, even on those of us who thought we were inoculated by big-city sensibilities, irony, and impractical footwear."
--Charles Demers, comedian, and author of Property Values and Primary Obsessions

"Humorous and engaging, The Hiking Book from Hell will resonate with anyone who hated summer camp, whose natural habitat does not include fleece clothing, and who is a late (or reluctant) arrival to the trail or the slopes. You'll be humming 'The Happy Wanderer' and reaching for your backpack."
--Jane Christmas, author of Open House: A Life in Thirty-two Moves and What the Psychic Told the Pilgrim

About the Author

Are Kalvø is one of Norway's leading comedians and satirists who has worked in standup for over twenty-five years. He has produced prize-winning musicals, reviews, an opera, and almost a dozen books. He often writes about things he doesn't know much about. This is the first time that he is also writing about something he doesn't understand.