Reviews with content warning for Racism - The Call of the Wild (Collins Classics)

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Call of the Wild (Collins Classics) by Jack London

24 reviews

spacewahine's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional sad

4.0

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grinchem's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.5

I enjoyed the read. It was interesting, and the characters were distinct. Buck's character development and voice are unusual and compelling. It has flaws, but overall my experience was positive.

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gilnean's review against another edition

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adventurous sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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melissalemos's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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karolinaz's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

0.5

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clevermird's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Installment #12 on my quest to read the great classics of Western Literary Canon, The Call of the Wild is one of several works by Jack London that deal with the Alaska Gold Rush. I read it back when I was 12 or so, but it's been quite a while since then, and I was eager to see what it brought to the table as an adult.

The book follows Buck, a not-so-ordinary pet dog who is kidnapped and sent to the Yukon as a sled dog. There, he learns how cruel the world (and people) can be, but also unlocks an inner strength and connection to his wolf ancestors that he never could have dreamed of as he passes through various masters and journeys through the wilderness.

This book was okay. The writing style is a little. . . I hesitate to say outdated, because that sounds more negative than I want it to. But it's certainly not a narrative style that is used a lot in modern writing. It's very much "tell don't show", almost as though we're being told a story rather than experiencing it with the characters. It works very well for the story they're telling, but it's a bit of a shock if you aren't expecting it.

I feel like I should have more to say about this one, but it's kind of just "there" for me. The characters are relatively well drawn for how limited the interaction with most of them (apart from Buck) is, the character arc for Buck makes sense, etc. I enjoyed reading it well enough, but I guess it just didn't connect with me.

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actualresultsmayvary's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

What an odd and pointless book.
It tells four totally unrelated stories which are linked only in their setting and that they vaguely involve dogs or wolves. They are also totally different lengths with one taking up over half the book and another only 18 pages.
The stories themselves are depressing, graphically gory and literally don't have a plot. They are just miserable snapshots mostly of dogs being abused but also of just general grim suffering.
There is also regular racism (as you often see in books from this time period).
It is beyond me to understand what possessed London to write and publish this book and how on earth it became a penguin classic.
The literally only saving grace of this book was that it was so short!

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