The Call of the Wild, White Fang, and Other Stories (Oxford World's Classics)
by Jack London
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jack LondonEditor: Earle Labor
Editor: Robert C. Leitz III
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1998-08-20
ISBN: 0192835149
Number of pages: 400
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Book Reviews of The Call of the Wild, White Fang, and Other Stories (Oxford World's Classics)
Book Review: Classic stories of nature
Summary: 5 Stars
This collection combines Jack London's classic dog stories: The Call of the Wild, White Fang, and five other shorter works with similar themes and, of course, dogs. These are some of the finest pieces of fiction in American Literature, and as such are must-reads for anyone, though certainly the stories themselves will appeal chiefly to males. The scent of testosterone is all over the stories, stories about men traveling the Yukon in search of gold or delivering the mail, camping in sub-freezing temperatures with little company other than perhaps a partner and a few dogs. The few female characters are generally like Mercedes in The Call of the Wild, utterly unsuited to her environment and even a hindrance.
Still, the stories are universal thematically. They are primarily about nature, and the effect of environment on the development of both humans and animals. Of course, the classic The Call of the Wild is about the faithful pet dog Buck who is stolen to be a sled dog in The Yukon and emerges transformed into a wild dog so in tune with his nature and natural environment that he is known as `The Ghost Dog of the Wilderness' for his ability to stealthily hunt in a way even his fellow wolves cannot top. White Fang flips this proposition on its head and shows us a wild wolf tamed by the love of a man. The shorter stories play variations on the theme, but all relate men and dogs engaged in or against their natural behaviors in some way and to different effects.
Another reason these books are so great is because London's prose is simple and clear. (He was a major inspiration of Hemingway's) And the stories are exciting. London does drama well, and this is clearly shown in the early scenes of White Fang, where two men are hunted by a hungry pack of wolves, and in the best of London's short fiction, "To Build a Fire", in which a freezing man fights nature in his attempts to build a fire and thus save his life.
This collection is an easy five stars.
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