The Game
by
Jack London
On the eve of their wedding, twenty-year-old Jack Fleming arranges a secret ringside seat for his sweetheart to view her only rival: the "game." Through Genevieve's apprehensive eyes, we watch the prizefight that pits her fair young lover, "the Pride of West Oakland," against the savage and brutish John Ponta and that reveals as much about her own natur...more
Paperback, 103 pages
Published
April 1st 2001
by UNP - Bison Books
(first published 1905)
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I sought out a copy of Jack London's boxing novel because I thought it might be an instance of naturalistic proto-noir. Having now read the book, I can report that it is, if nothing else, an instance of creative publishing: The Game is actually a short story that has been stretched through illustrations, typesetting, and good old-fashioned blank pages to appear to be 182 pages long. The man who designed this book could have gotten 50 pages out of the Gettysburg Address. Setting this disappoi...more
I am not a sports fan by any stretch of the imagination. That's why I thought it was so surprising that I enjoyed this story so much. The majority of the plot involves a boxing match, but Mr. London's rich language and sympathetic technique suck you into the story and hit your emotions hard. I found myself genuinely invested in the outcome of the fight. It's a simple story with a twist you can see coming, but I thought it was definitely worth the short amount of time it took to read.
A bit of a love story.
Beautifully written; the first
thing I've read by Jack London.
The story is about a young couple.
The guy is a fighter and the girl
decides to see one of his fights for
the first time.
The fight itself will make you anxious.
It's very descriptive and gripping, and
you'll get lost in it just waiting to see
how it ends.
Beautifully written; the first
thing I've read by Jack London.
The story is about a young couple.
The guy is a fighter and the girl
decides to see one of his fights for
the first time.
The fight itself will make you anxious.
It's very descriptive and gripping, and
you'll get lost in it just waiting to see
how it ends.
This multi-dimensional story shows what a spectacular craftsman London was. 50% of the work describes in vivid detail the final match of a popular East Bay prize fighter, who is leaving that world to begin an adult life with what appears to be his perfect match. London's pacing and language are without comparison. Nothing is telegraphed in this fight.
I've had this book for a long time, but reread it when I moved to Oakland, where this story takes place. It's about a young man, a girl, and the boxing ring, all told with London's colorful style. Read Sea Wolf
and this to get acquainted with Jack London.
..."her first great deed was when she wrung from him his promise to cease fighting.
And he, after the way of men, pursuing the dream of love and striving for possession of the precious and deathless object of...more
and this to get acquainted with Jack London.
..."her first great deed was when she wrung from him his promise to cease fighting.
And he, after the way of men, pursuing the dream of love and striving for possession of the precious and deathless object of...more
I enjoyed reading about the innocent love that Genevieve and Joe had for each other in The Game. I loved London's style of writing and word choice.
The story is very short and captivating but I was dissatisfied with the ending.
The story is very short and captivating but I was dissatisfied with the ending.
Short and captivating story. I vacillated between really liking the narrative because it was so broad "As a female, it was in her nature to..." and disliking it because it seemed extreme/dramatic. Short story, good read.
Julie
marked it as to-read
Far too much action sequence, in fact practically the whole thing is an action sequence, one might as well play an arcade game as read this book.
This is rather a sad little story of a boxer and his wife.
The story tells of a little game played in order to win the boxing match. Unfortunately the cost is too high for the young couple. Too too sad for me.
The story tells of a little game played in order to win the boxing match. Unfortunately the cost is too high for the young couple. Too too sad for me.
Enjoyable. The edition that I read included some of the original illustrations that were included in it's first publication in the Metropolitan Magazine, which was nice to see.
This melodrama is an embarrassment. Not something to judge London by at all. And if you're looking for a book on boxing, just go straight to Liebling, or back to Pierce Egan.
Kevin Bennett
marked it as to-read
Jasmeet
marked it as to-read
Ancie
added it
Kb Jones
marked it as to-read
Christopher York
marked it as to-read
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Jack London was an American novelist and short-story writer whose works deal romantically with elemental struggles for survival. At his peak, he was the highest paid and the most popular of all living writers. Because of early financial difficulties, he was largely self educated past grammar school.
London draws heavily on his life experiences in his writing. He spent time in the Klondi...more
More about Jack London...
London draws heavily on his life experiences in his writing. He spent time in the Klondi...more
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