None of that is in Lomig's biography of Muir, though. (At least not in the story proper; some of this is covered in the book's end notes.) The story Lomig focuses on here is largely about a year-long period when he left his job at a wagon wheel factory in Indiana due to an accident that left him partially blinded. He then found himself driven to experience nature more directly and not spend time in unfulfilling work as he had been doing. He spent the next several months walking from Kentucky to the southern end of Florida just to see and experience nature. He begged for shelter from strangers or slept under the night sky. He used what savings he had on food, but foraged for a fair amount as well. While he did experience some hardships, he dismissed most of them as inconveniences. The only issue of particular note was that he contracted malaria after wading through the Florida swamps to get to a logging town, and he was laid up there for several months. He then sailed briefly to Cuba, then New York, and finally California where he began exploring the wilderness again.
And that's pretty much the whole narrative here: Muir walking through nature. There's no scenes of him having to fight off massive bears, he never gets attacked by highwaymen, he never gets sick alone in the wilderness... The man versus nature storyline that one might expect here is largely absent. There's just no "versus" part of this. Muir just walks and takes in as much nature as he can.
Despite that, though, it still feels like an engaging story. We see how and why he becomes so interested in nature, and how it fills him with nearly constant awe. And this is emphasized by Lomig's artwork. While the characters are generally fairly cartoony in style, Lomig's renderings of wild animals and giant trees and vast open fields are stunning. It's not only a good way to showcase his artistic skills, but it really works for the story as it allows the reader to see and experience nature in the way that Muir himself does. The details of individual people he can gloss over and mentally simplify, but when he's looking at a flower or some leaves, he basks in their detailed beauty. I think the cover sums the idea well -- you see this lush gorgeous clearly, and oh, by the way, Muir is sitting here in the corner too. While the story is effectively Muir's "origin" so to speak, it's not about him so much as what made him him.
I pre-ordered the book months ago and I don't recall what prompted me to put it in my cart, but I'm quite glad I did. It was published in France a couple years ago first, so perhaps it was some talk about that version? Regardless, it's a lovely, quiet book. The perfect thing to read on a quiet, rainy afternoon as you sit next to the window sipping your favorite tea or coffee.
NBM published the book in English just a few weeks ago, so it should be readily available from your favorite bookstore. It retails for $24.99 US.
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