January 2021 BOTM - The Call of The Wild

[Ian]

Happy New Year Everyone - The Book of the Month for January 2021 is The Call Of The Wild by Lack London. It is a short book, so I will not bother creating subtopics for a reading schedule or background information. You can post you thoughts here.

[JazzyJake]

I last read this approx. 57 years ago. I was 8 or so. The book went in a book purge sometime ago, but I can still picture the cover. I know it was part of an inexpensive cardboard-bound series aimed at kids; I had Black Beauty and a few others in the series. COTW wasn’t my vote, but might be an interesting revisit.

[Ian]

Had I remembered this story was about a dog, I would have voted for it. :-). I think I got this mixed up with Into the Wild and Lure of Labrador Wild.

I think I also read this a long time ago when I was 10-12 years old - I vaguely remember some of the story.

[Jim]

Good evening!

I don't think I've ever read this, and I'm reading messages from people who read it as baby goats!

[Cheryl]

I'm so glad this won the vote (by quite some margin I think), I voted for it, been meaning to read it for ages and now I will!

[Kathryn]

Just started, and the writing seems pretty good. I haven't read this book or anything from this author before, so I'm quite curious.

[Jim]

The title of this discussion has the wrong year.

[Cheryl]

Oh yes well spotted Jim! I hadn't even noticed. 2012 was probably a better year anyway!

I haven't read anything by this author before either Kathryn, I should be starting it in the next day or two, just finishing off my current book right now.

[Ian]

Jim wrote: "The title of this discussion has the wrong year."

Thanks Jim! The typo has been fixed.

[Ian]

I finished this book the other night - It was short and action packed but I will hold off on any specific commentary to give other folks a chance to read it as well.

I have a Husky/Shepherd mix (my avatar picture) and couldn't help thinking about how he would have survived in this story. Sometimes I think he would trade being a pet for being able to run and pull sled all day.

[Cheryl]

Thanks for waiting for us Ian, I'll do my best to get cracking with this asap.

Your Husky/Shepherd looks gorgeous!

[Kathryn]

Well, I'm finished. It was way too short. I loved following Buck's story. The end had me sobbing. The writing style was so good, very flowing and natural.

I love your dog Ian. If I ever move into a bigger place I'd love to get a husky. :)

[Cheryl]

I'm only half way through this book, I will have it finished in a couple of days. Just wanted to come her and say.. Nooooo (sob sob sob), this book is going to break me.

[Kathryn]

It broke me Cheryl. Just get the tissues ready.

[Cheryl]

I get the distinct impression it is not going to get better, I am bracing myself for more heartbreak.

[Cheryl]

I've just finished. What a lovely and sad story. I gave it 5/5.

[Jazzy]

You know that this story is based on London himself, as is White Fang. They are incarnations of himself as dogs.

[Jazzy]

This is a book I have read many times in my life, as a very young child on my own, with my family when I was around 10, and of course we took turns reading it aloud with my own children. I gave a lovely hardcover copy to the 11 year old boy next door but one for Christmas. His little sister got Wind in the Willows.

[Cheryl]

Thanks for sharing Jazzy. No I did not know that they were based on himself, I thought they must be based on a dog of his and what he imagined his life might have been like.

Loves the presents you gave to the children on your road, I hope they treasure them and love them as much as I did.

[Diane]

Just finished. I had never read this book before and am trying to read many of the classics now that I've just turned 70. I liked the perspective that the story was written - you were able to get inside the dog's head as to what he was thinking along the way. I was pleased with the ending - which I won't give away in case others are still in the process of reading the book. Good read.

[Jazzy]

Thank you Cheryl! and so glad you enjoyed it Diane.

[Cheryl]

Diane I was surprised by the perspective of the story too having known very little about this book before I read it. I though it was a great idea, I was really pleased with how well it worked.

[Larry]

I just re read this book over the weekend, I believe this is my 4th time reading it starting back in school. I always love reading this story and it gives me a chance to reimagine my youth and how these kind of stories could make me yearn for my own adventures.
That being said I read it this time with a more adult eye and came up with some things that I guess I never thought of before. The part where Buck dreams of Neanderthals and his history with man is supposed to be a part of him reentering his wild state but is actually more about his domestication. I'm not so sure how that helps him to devolve back into the wild. Just one of those thoughts you get that normally would get bypassed but after 4 readings they stand out more maybe?
I do like the way the story is told by Buck and although he is given human qualities through most of the story in the end he is taken back to his most primitive instincts. This is a human fantasy for sure. We, like most creatures of this earth, are looking to make life easier and less challenging not more but we like to believe we still could if we needed .Not very likely in my humble opinion. Most of us and our dogs wouldn't last a week but hey that's what makes these stories so fun.

[Cheryl]

I'm glad you brought up the subject of the Neanderthal dreams Larry. Personally I didn't really like those parts of the book, I didn't feel it really brought anything to the story, it just seemed odd and a bit unrealistic in a story that otherwise had me hooked. What did everyone else think?

Your last paragraph Larry was really interesting, I agree with you entirely I just hadn't thought about it like that until you wrote it, thanks for sharing.

[Ian]

Since it is beyond halfway through the month, let's official open up the conversation up to any spoilers.

If you haven't finished the book, there are most likely spoilers before this post. :-)

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[Ian]

I when I started reading this book and as I went along, I kept wondering how Buck was going to get back home, but as the pages started to run out realized that this wasn't going to happen.

I read somewhere something along the lines that the chapter names are a clue that Buck will be reverting to an undomesticated state - in retrospect, I can see that now:
Chapter I: Into the Primitive.
Chapter II: The Law of Club and Fang.
Chapter III: The Dominant Primordial Beast.
Chapter IV: Who Has Won to Mastership.
Chapter V: The Toil of Trace and Trail.
Chapter VI: For the Love of a Man.
Chapter VII: The Sounding of the Call.

[Cheryl]

I thought the same Ian and wondered how he would get home for the first couple of chapters.

Super spoilery now...

A few people warned me that the ending is really sad. I actually found the bit where poor Dave died the most heartbreaking. It was terrible when they left him and then somehow even worse (and better) when the man went back to put him out of his misery. I cried and couldn't imagine what could be more upsetting than that, I thought perhaps Buck would die at the end. I am relieved it was only his owner! (haha!)

[Larry]

Yes i also thought it was a clever tie in when he described the arrow in the bull moose. I as a reader didn't guess that Indians were of any threat in this area especially since this is the first we are aware of them. It still sprang on me though when he found his "family" with arrows in them kind of like a Aha! moment.

[Kathryn]

What I also liked about the ending was that it hinted that Buck had many decendants. I guess he was popular with the ladies. ;)

[Cheryl]

Yes I gathered from the ending he had many pups! Well done Buck, haha!

[Angie]

I finished 'The Call of the Wild' today and unlike many others I haven't read it as a child. I'm really surprised that this is viewed predominantly as a children's book. Of course it can be read purely as an adventure story about a dog, but gosh, it's rather strong stuff! There are so many fundamental and controversial themes explored in this short text (Darwin's theory of the survival of the fittest, primitive vs. civilized, the individual vs. the group, the historic background of the Goldrush era....) - I'll have quite a lot to digest now, I didn't expect that.

[Michelle]

I just finished this and I’m so glad I read it. There was so much packed into a short novel. I think Buck is a character I will always remember. I don’t think my dog, a golden retriever, would ever survive in those conditions, but it did make me think of what he would be like in the wild.

Also really enjoyed reading everyone’s comments in this thread.

[La Tonya]

I finished this book. It was fantastic. I read it the first time in high school for an English Literature class. As an adult I see what I missed. I love the story of power, friendship, and finding the place in which you belong even for animals. I felt the howl of the wolf pack and wanted to join in.

[Hannah]

I'm happy I read this in middle school, because I remember being caught up in Buck's experiences and understanding "the call of the wild." Reading it now, I was more focused on the humans and their actions and motivations, and I think it made the book less enjoyable. I'll have to read it again in a couple years and try to shift my attention back to the animals!