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To Build a Fire

Jack London

Start date: April 1, 2024

Finish date: April 30, 2024

Discussion: Current Group Reads

Why we're reading this: April 2024 Short Story/Novella
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What Members Thought

Aug 03, 2017 Candi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics-shelf, short-stories

Well, despite the oppressive heat and humidity in western New York yesterday, this little story by Jack London managed to give me the chills! London is a master at recreating the sights, sounds and feelings of the harsh elements of the north. I seriously got up and made a cup of hot coffee in the late afternoon while reading about a man's treacherous trek along the Yukon trail. With temperatures plummeting to seventy-five degrees below zero, the solitary man traipses along with just one dog as c ...more

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Mar 27, 2008 Brad rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: short-story, meta-review, classic, faves

To Build a Fire is one of the stories that made me want to be a writer.

I remember hearing a radio version of this when I was young, long before I ever read it. My Dad and I were on a camping trip in one of the provincial parks, and he'd brought along a little transistor radio. In the dark of our tent we picked up a radio station that played old radio shows, and that night the story was To Build a Fire. It was wonderful to listen to it in that setting. The old crackly radio hummed, the static mi To Build a Fire is one of the stories that made me want to be a writer.

I remember hearing a radio version of this when I was young, long before I ever read it. My Dad and I were on a camping trip in one of the provincial parks, and he'd brought along a little transistor radio. In the dark of our tent we picked up a radio station that played old radio shows, and that night the story was To Build a Fire. It was wonderful to listen to it in that setting. The old crackly radio hummed, the static mixed with the Yukon wind sound effects, the dog barked, the man talked to himself while he tried to get his fire lit, and all the while our canvas tent creaked in the warm night. It was a full immersion into London's story of Nature humbling man.

A while later, in school, I had to read To Build a Fire in a reading period; I was thrilled to be remembering the story as the words unfolded in front of me. I wanted to go to the Yukon (which I am finally doing this summer). I wanted to face Nature in a way that was smart. I wanted to do what the man failed to do. I wanted to avoid arrogance, swallow my natural hubris, and experience the cold and danger of a Yukon winter just so that I could show the man that he should have listened to the old man's advice and paid attention to his dog's uneasiness.

Now that I teach, I bring out To Build a Fire in any class that calls for short stories. It is one of the greatest short stories ever written, and it always leads to a lively discussion, especially today when so many students are concerned with the environment.

Some students find themselves cheering for the Yukon, some find themselves cheering for the dog, and a few find themselves cheering for the way the man never gives up. Then there are those who scoff at the man for his stupidity, for his lack of imagination, for his arrogance in the face of such raw, frigid power.

I find that, these days, my reaction to To Build a Fire depends on my mood. I can see every side; I can empathize with every perspective, which I am sure has everything to do with the brilliance of London's craftsmanship. This last time I found myself connecting most with the story of the dog. When I reach the Yukon this summer (boy am I glad that it won't be winter), I'm going to read it again. I think it's a pretty good bet who I'll side with in that reading. But one never knows. ...more

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Oct 26, 2022 Candace rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: short-stories

I am not a fan of audio because I am a visual person, but being short on time I gave it a try. I thought the audio was well done, and I found it easy to follow. However my rating is based on the story alone. (Though the narrator who does this audio with his old stoic voice is perfect for “the man.”)
My 2 stars represent a few personal dislikes:
1. I am not a fan of Naturalism.
2. I have never liked man against nature stories- before I even knew what they were called.
3. Who could have any sympathy ...more

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Mar 11, 2013 Franky rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018-book-challenge, amazing, favorites, man-vs-nature

I do believe that Jack London’s To Build a Fire is one of the quintessential Man vs. Nature stories, as it has many of the elements of London’s theme of Naturalism, and certainly defines the essence of man out of his element.

Set in the backdrop of the Yukon Trail, where the temperatures plummet below sub-tundra, one hopeful prospector travels without any human companion. The story’s main premise is the negligent attitude of the unnamed man, who is unexperienced in this region of the Great North ...more

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Aug 13, 2014 Laura rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, american-fiction, fiction-20th-century, e-books, short-stories, read-2014

Available online here.

Opening lines:
DAY HAD BROKEN cold and gray, exceedingly cold and gray, when the man turned aside from the main Yukon trail and climbed the high earth-bank, where a dim and little-travelled trail led eastward through the fat spruce timberland.

First published in The Century Magazine, v.76, August, 1908. ...more

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Feb 26, 2021 Kelly_Hunsaker_reads ... rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, short-stories, canadian, adventure, environment, read-in-2021

To Build a Fire will give you the chills no matter the temperature. Set in the Yukon, one man finds himself unable to reach his camp and therefore freezing to death. We watch as he begins his venture into the woods with an arrogance and ignorance that does not allow for him to understand the very real dangers. He seems to believe that he is impervious to the cold. Even his dog knew better.

As his limbs grow numb and the cold sets in he finally decides to light a fire and the descriptions of those ...more

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Apr 09, 2016 Greg rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A man is cocky and underestimates just how cold it can get.

Pretty great. I thought it was very appropriate to read this yesterday, because we just got 3 inches of snow and everyone is cranky as heck about it.

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