Raději zešílet v divočině - Setkání s šumavskými samotáři – Palán Aleš (2025)

The book "Better to Go Crazy in the Wilderness" won the Book of the Year award in the 2018 poll by Lidové noviny. Based on this book and the follow-up book by Aleš Palán, "Like in Heaven, Only Different," the Brno theater Husa na provázku presented a theatrical performance under the same title, directed by Anna Davidová.

In 2025, the documentary filmmaker Miro Remo received the highest award, the Crystal Globe, for his film also titled "Better to Go Crazy in the Wilderness" at the festival in Karlovy Vary.

Some have built huts in the forest, others live in caravans, or even in mountain solitude. One sleeps right under the trees. Some can be reached by car, while others require a hike. The Šumava hermits, loners whose opinions and lives bear no resemblance to anything you know. This book is about encounters with them.

Eight interviews with people living long-term away from civilization provide a glimpse into a mysterious world of which we know nothing. We will meet wild animals, harsh winters, and even specters. Some loners are distinctly rational, while others narrate their lives somewhat like a myth. Even that has its value, just different from a list of verified facts. The way modern hermits exist in the landscape…