A Curious Fragment

by Jack London

The Curious Fragment is a short story by Jack London. John Griffith "Jack" London (born John Griffith Chaney, January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916) was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone. He is best remembered as the author of The Call of the Wild and White Fang, both set in the Klondike Gold Rush, as well as the short stories "To Build a Fire", "An Odyssey of the North", and "Love of Life". He also wrote of the South Pacific in such stories as "The Pearls of Parlay" and "The Heathen", and of the San Francisco Bay area in The Sea Wolf. London was a passionate advocate of unionization, socialism, and the rights of workers and wrote several powerful works dealing with these topics such as his dystopian novel The Iron Heel, his non-fiction exposé The People of the Abyss, and The War of the Classes.

Genres: Short Stories

26 pages, Paperback

Published January 4, 2013

About the author

John Griffith Chaney, better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to become an international celebrity and earn a large fortune from writing. He was also an innovator in the genre that would later become known as science fiction.

London was part of the radical literary group "The Crowd" in San Francisco and a passionate advocate of animal rights, workers’ rights and socialism. London wrote several works dealing with these topics, such as his dystopian novel The Iron Heel, his non-fiction exposé The People of the Abyss, War of the Classes, and Before Adam.

His most famous works include The Call of the Wild and White Fang, both set in Alaska and the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush, as well as the short stories "To Build a Fire", "An Odyssey of the North", and "Love of Life". He also wrote about the South Pacific in stories such as "The Pearls of Parlay" and "The Heathen".

Reviews

[Tym · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very powerful story about the power of literacy and the cruelty of men with too much power over their brethren. Highly recommended.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although written over 100 years ago, this short story "holds up" very well I think. It is set in a far future after the Republic has vanished and been replaced by an industrial oligarchy. It is a short exhortation on the importance of literacy and how a literate populace can fight against the tyranny of an oppressive "overman" class.

[Lyra Goga · Rating 5 out of 5]

"And my message is, brothers, that there is a good time coming, when all will be well in the world and there will be neither masters nor slaves. But first you must prepare for that good time by learning to read. There is power in the printed word."

[Mirta · Rating 2 out of 5]

C characters 4
A atmosphere 3
W writing 5
P plot 2
I intrigue 2
L logic 5
E enjoinment 4

TOTAL: 25 —> 1,8 stars ✨

Bonus/punishment points: 0