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A review by oofym
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
First off, my copy came with three other short stories by Jack london which I'll quickly rank:
•To build a fire - 3.5
•Bâtard - 2.5
•Love of life - 4.0
Love of life is definitely worth a read, it's only 20 pages and is a stark example of man's will to persevere against death at any cost.
Onto "The Call of the Wild".
I really enjoyed this, I've never read an adult story from the perspective of an animal before, neither have I read anything set in the Yukon, so this was very fresh to me and a treat.
Jack London has a fantastic ability for writing descriptions of physicality and nature, that's really where this book shines.
Here's a quote: "With the Aurora Borealis flaming coldly overhead, or the stars leaping in the frost dance, and the land numb and frozen under its pall of snow, this song of the huskies might have been the defiance of life, only it was pitched in minor key, with long drawn wailings and half sobs, and was more so the pleading of life, the articulate travail of existence".
The only thing I can discredit the author on, is that from what I've seen he only seems to able to write about animals, cold climates and survival, pretty much everything he's written involves that to some degree, but hey if you have a knack for something why not. I suppose quite alot of the characters are rather one note in terms of complexity but this a 90 page story from 1903, I wasn't expecting game of thrones.
Anyway, would definitely recommend if you're in the mood for something with a survivalist feel.
•To build a fire - 3.5
•Bâtard - 2.5
•Love of life - 4.0
Love of life is definitely worth a read, it's only 20 pages and is a stark example of man's will to persevere against death at any cost.
Onto "The Call of the Wild".
I really enjoyed this, I've never read an adult story from the perspective of an animal before, neither have I read anything set in the Yukon, so this was very fresh to me and a treat.
Jack London has a fantastic ability for writing descriptions of physicality and nature, that's really where this book shines.
Here's a quote: "With the Aurora Borealis flaming coldly overhead, or the stars leaping in the frost dance, and the land numb and frozen under its pall of snow, this song of the huskies might have been the defiance of life, only it was pitched in minor key, with long drawn wailings and half sobs, and was more so the pleading of life, the articulate travail of existence".
The only thing I can discredit the author on, is that from what I've seen he only seems to able to write about animals, cold climates and survival, pretty much everything he's written involves that to some degree, but hey if you have a knack for something why not. I suppose quite alot of the characters are rather one note in terms of complexity but this a 90 page story from 1903, I wasn't expecting game of thrones.
Anyway, would definitely recommend if you're in the mood for something with a survivalist feel.