Tales of the Pacific

by Jack London, Andrew Sinclair (Introduction)

Shattered by tropical disease and a gruelling voyage across the Pacific, Jack London spent many of the last months of his life writing in Hawaii. His search for untouched civilizations had revealed cruelty and ignorance beside startling beauty, a flawed paradise.
If you know London primarily through novels like White Fang, these stories will provide a new perspective. Full of intriguing characters and snippets of pidgin, they also highlight London's concern with social issues.

Cover photograph by Jack London.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Travel, Literature, Adventure, Nautical, American

232 pages, Paperback

First published May 25, 1989

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

[Nikos Tsentemeidis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Είτε σε μεγάλη είτε σε μικρή φόρμα, όπως εδώ, ο London είναι εξαιρετικός αφηγητής. Οι συγκεκριμένες ιστορίες προέκυψαν από τις εμπειρίες του στα ταξίδια του στον ειρηνικό. Θεματολογία τους αποτελούν οι σχέσεις ιθαγενών και αποικιοκρατών. Η θανατική ποινή του λάθος ανθρώπου που για τους ευρωπαίους δεν αποτελεί παρά μια ρουτίνα και από την άλλη η κακή τύχη του ιεραπόστολου που προσπαθεί να μεταδώσει τον χριστιανισμό μη σεβόμενος τα διαφορετικά ήθη.

Καταπληκτική η έκδοση από Πατάκη, όπως και όλη η σειρά «Μικρά κλασικά κείμενα».

[Luke Marsden · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a collection of stories as diverse and full of colour as I imagine are the islands of the Pacific themselves. The reader is transported to Hawaii, The Solomon Islands, French Polynesia, Pitcairn and Fiji, and along the way meets a band of characters that shed light on multiple facets of the stories of the islands, from pearl traders to plantation workers to chiefs to those suffering from the diseases and ravages of living in the tropics. There is no glossing over of harsh realities - the stories have a rawness about them that makes you feel that blossoms are brushing your cheeks as you walk forest trails in high mountain valleys, and that the salt breeze is in your nostrils as you navigate between rough, bejewelled specks of land and coral in this vast ocean. Likewise, the effects of the arrival of the modern world on the islands are not ignored - the contrast between the traditional and the new is stark in places. The descriptive passages elicit the great natural beauty of the locations and there are many fascinating details of local ways of life.

I found it remarkable to read about the circumstances under which the book was written. The stories are all the more impressive for the suffering that Jack London was enduring as he sailed the Pacific waters and wrote about what he saw. I would highly recommend them for anyone with their gaze directed toward this part of the world.

Luke F. D. Marsden (author of Wondering, the Way is Made)

[Victor · Rating 5 out of 5]

E eis que no século XXI descubro as histórias de Jack London (o escritor dos Best Sellers nos inícios do século XX)! Fazia já algum tempo que não 'devorava' um livro de tal maneira. São onze contos sobre os povos do pacífico, maioritariamente daqueles que habitam ou habitaram o arquipélago do Havai. Ao longo dos contos somos enviados numa 'cápsula do tempo' para o meio de tribos antropófagas, para ilhas de leprosos, para situações de profunda injustiça humana,para culturas de Deuses e saberes muito distintos dos nossos. Cada conto encerra sempre uma "moral", algo para ser reflectido. Os conflitos construídos na narrativa de London deixam-nos por vezes incomodados, outras, com um sorriso de justiça feita. Mais um autor a seguir!

[Dylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some lesser known London can be found in 'Tales Of The Pacific' - sometimes hot fevered stories, tropical natural beauty, strange new characters and the sense that these people and places are just about to see the modern world come beaming in across the ocean.

[Devin Hallett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps not London's most famous works, but sneakily good stories that share some of the Hemingway Adventure flavor, succinct and packing a punch. It felt a little odd to start reading it while on Kauai as a tourist, but an enjoyable set of stories with a tone critical of the colonial spirit in many ways.

It was perhaps a mistake to start reading "The House of Mapuhi" while bracing for Hurricane Lane.

[Jake Babineau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each story weaves a short compelling tale, not just of the Pacific culture, which is immensely interesting, but of human life, engagement, and how we are contradictions, capable of generating great love and terrible suffering.

[Ted Case · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting look at Island life in the Pacific during our earlier history. Many of the short stories are sad and or brutal reflections of another time.

[Marc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice writing, the book gives a good sense of the long-gone times

[Jose S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good look at the relationships between the ancient hawaian people. Simple and deep.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

not the most electrifying stories but beautifully written.

[Seth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite a bit of overlap with some of the strongest stories found in the Modern Library collection, South Sea Tales which overall I think is a slightly better drawn together collection. But there are several other stories here that rank among my favorites, most notably, "The Chinago" which moved me to the brink of tears. Most of the stories are set in Hawaii and include elements of conflict or tension with outside cultures. Some really sharp, insightful writing on the psychology and social function of Polynesian religious practices. In page after page, London delves into Polynesian culture and lore and draws out, at least for me, a wealth of wisdom.

I requested this book hoping it included the story I've heard he set in Tonga. Alas, the search goes on.

I'm increasingly coming to the conclusion that London is my favorite 20th century American writer. So much unpretentious depth and clarity in his style. And I suppose I share many of his interests, too.

[EAL · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two months to read a 232-page book? That's just sad. I'll only write about the stories that made an impression on me.

"The Chinago" - it had the most focused plot, and I liked it even though it definitely had a downer ending.

"Koolau the Leper" - the ending was really abrupt.

"Shin-Bones" - another one I preferred. Thought it was one of the many that was a frame story, a format I generally view with suspicion, this time the frame complemented the main story and added to its message. I enjoyed the exploration of the conflict between superstition and skepticism.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short stories all set in the South Pacific. These were written near the end of London's short life (he only lived to 40, after he stopped viewing the natives as a group of savages, or at the very least, no more savage than the white men who invaded their tropical islands. Can't say I loved all of them, but on balance, an excellent collection. Some of the stories are very interesting, filled with irony, justice finally achieved, and often brutal violence.

[Matthew Ogborn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite how I had never read Jack London before now is a mystery to me, but I am extremely glad I finally have. Most of the short stories in this fine collection see a bold, lyrical writer at the top of his game, even the other lesser works filled with enough wisdom and delightful prose to remind us what an immense talent he was. The amazing, vivid description of a hurricane alone in The House of Mapuhi is worth buying it for.

[Mark Shipton-smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read in a ' boys own adventure' style. If you're looking for short stories based in the South Seas then I'd probably suggest ' The trembling of a leaf ' by Somerset Maugham. I thought it was a more substantial read by one of the masters of the short story genre.

[Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short stories from around the Pacific. Nearly every archipelago is represented in some way in these tales, which range from ghostly stories to accoiunts of cyclones and more.

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Er, not what I was looking for in storytelling, but definitely a step back in time...