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The Call of the Wild

Jack London

Start date: November 1, 2020

Finish date: November 30, 2020

Discussion: Group Reads

Why we're reading this: November 2020 Book-A-Book Selection
[close] November 2020 Book-A-Book Selection

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What Members Thought

Jun 13, 2018 Sue K H rated it really liked it

Shelves: 000-classics-grp-read, modern-library-100

"There is an ecstasy that marks the summit of life, and beyond which life cannot rise. And such is the paradox of living, this ecstasy comes when one is most alive, and it comes as a complete forgetfulness that one is alive. This ecstasy, this forgetfulness of living, comes to the artist, caught up and out of himself in a sheet of flame; it comes to the soldier, war-mad on a stricken field and refusing quarter; and it came to Buck, leading the pack, sounding the old wolf-cry, straining after the ...more

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Jan 01, 2021 Jaclyn~she lives! catching up on reviews~ rated it liked it

Shelves: states-alaska

The Call of The Wild is about the desire for mastery, the fight to survive, and the ultimate price we pay for freedom.

I read the Call of the Wild when I was in middle school, and I remembered little about it other than the knowledge that it told the story of a dog in the alaskan wilderness. Over the years I've found myself more connected to nature, I've felt the pull to get out of the house and into the wild, and so I put this on my list of books to read due to the notoriety of Jack London and t ...more

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Nov 01, 2020 Eileen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2020, 2020-ng-group-challenge, classics, 2020genrechallenge, audiobook, historical-fiction, childrens, middle-school

4.5 stars

I don't know if I've read this one before, but I enjoyed it as an adult. This was a lot more brutal than I expected from a children's book, but it was the brutality of nature and survival in the Canadian wilderness. There were places where I was hanging on to every word, wondering what was going to happen. I loved that this was told from Buck's POV and I also really enjoyed hearing about the Klondike Gold Rush, dog sledding in general, and the cruelty and kindness of man, and the loyalt ...more

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Jun 21, 2021 Ev rated it did not like it · review of another edition

I knew there was a reason I decided to delay reading The Call Of The Wild when I was younger. There is an enormous probability that this reluctance has shielded me from years of mental trauma that would have ignited the instant I came across needlessly grotesque and cruelly vivid imagery of torture, torment, and brutal inhumanity inflicted upon animals, particularly domesticated dogs.

Throughout this vomit-inducing story, Jack London discusses the savagery between man and beast, yet the author hi I knew there was a reason I decided to delay reading The Call Of The Wild when I was younger. There is an enormous probability that this reluctance has shielded me from years of mental trauma that would have ignited the instant I came across needlessly grotesque and cruelly vivid imagery of torture, torment, and brutal inhumanity inflicted upon animals, particularly domesticated dogs.

Throughout this vomit-inducing story, Jack London discusses the savagery between man and beast, yet the author himself exhibits a savage pleasure in detailing every wound and kill imaginable yet unthinkable, from the agony of the whip and club to verbal demoralization of a dog’s existence to yelp-wielding thrashings and blood-spattered bodies to gut-gouging fierceness of fang and inculcated monstrosity of lethal urges against fellow canines.

As an animal enthusiast, I was tempted to abandon further digestion of the bile London figuratively managed to expectorate and get published. I would have surrendered to such a temptation had it not been for my principle of commitment once I begin a book, no matter how distasteful, though in this case, the horrendous portrayal of depravity against innocent creatures would have justified a separation between myself and this malignancy that critics label a “classic”.

As a reader, I understand most of the time authors write to entertain, inform, or simply depict an issue upon which they feel the need for discourse. While London’s intention was purportedly to emphasize man’s dominance over creatures for profit and in turn forcing them to surrender their civilized nature for the beastly instinct, it does not necessitate every excruciating detail about the mistreatment of dogs and their subsequent violent transformation into beasts of the wild.

In regards to the months he spent observing events in the Yukon, surely there must have been less graphic material London could have used to convey the tragic nature of the issue at hand. Such depiction of horror makes even Stephen King’s work look tame.

However, I will admit there is one positive aspect in reading this tale.

The torture is over! ...more

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Oct 20, 2013 Janet rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Emotionally gut-wrenching if you love animals and hate seeing them mistreated. However, the bond between Buck and John Thornton was really special and uplifting. Certainly a book that shows the rigors and harshness of life during the Alaskan gold rush.

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