Saturday, August 18, 2018

The Call of the Wild by Jack London


Title: The Call of the Wild
Author: Jack London
Pages: 70
Finished: August 18, 2018

First Sentence: Buck did not read the newspapers, or he would have known that trouble was brewing, not alone for himself, but for every tide-water dog, strong of muscle and with warm, long hair, from Puget Sound to San Diego.
Summary: Buck lives a happy, cushy life with Judge in California when the Yukon Gold Rush begins. A duplicitous servant sells Buck north to help with teh dog sled teams. Thus begins a life of toil and hardship as Buck pulls a sled through Alaska, fights his way to the top of his team, and fights to survive the harsh weather in Alaska.

Thoughts: Do you ever have those books that you're sure you've never read before, but as you're reading them you vividly remember passages? This was me reading this book. I don't remember ever reading it, but very specific scenes stuck out. Primarily the scene where Dolly went mad, and the scene where Buck wants to be head of the pack and kept dancing around to get it. Turns out, we listened to this on a family car ride when I was about 10.

And I have to say, I'm a little shocked that we listened to this. If I was ten, my youngest sibling was 6, and she's an animal lover. Dogs are mistreated and killed left and right in this book! Holy crow! For a short novel, it took a lot longer for me to read because the emotional toil was so difficult and felt needlessly cruel. But then I remember my high school English class when we talked about Jack London. This is how he writes. Nature is what it is and if man doesn't handle it well, Man will die. Nature doesn't care.

In the end, the book was really well written and very realistic. That being said, it's not something I personally enjoy reading at this stage in my life.

Read for Classic Club Spin #18.

1 comment:

  1. I struggle with sad, graphic animal stories. Kimba the White Lion used to make cry and mum banned me watching Lassie cause I cried too much!
    I think I will be giving this one a miss - thanks :-)

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