Reviews

The Call of the Wild and Other Stories by Jack London

witchofottawacounty's review against another edition

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DNF: the first 20 pages is just animal cruelty.

grrr8_catsby's review against another edition

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2.5

The Call Of The Wild And Other Stories contains a total of 3 stories by author Jack London; the titular The Call Of The Wild, Brown Wolf, and That Spot. All stories included in this volume fit together nicely, but do show a bit of concern for London's apparent fascination with sled dogs.

The Call Of The Wild is arguably one of London's most famous works, and follows the adventures of Buck, a Saint Bernard/Shepherd mix who is stolen from his California home and smuggled into the Alaskan frontier. As Buck learns to adapt to life in harsh conditions as a sled dog, we see overwhelming doses of survivalism and primitivitism. Overall well-written and enjoyable, London does fall victim to multiple instances of anthropomorphism.

Brown Wolf is a story about a couple who find a semi-feral dog, rehabilitate him, and find themselves in an 'Air Bud'-esque situation when the original owner finds him.

That Spot is a story about two men in the Alaskan frontier who really hate their dog.

For stories aimed at children, I was surprised by the sheer violence and graphic descriptions included in all of these stories. Be aware of your content warnings; multiple depictions of animal cruelty, multiple depictions of dog fighting, violence, racism, and mentions of eating dogs run rampant throughout this book. 

A brief review for a brief read.

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seantimmons's review

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adventurous tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Every story is this collection is good. Sea Wolf has instantly become one of my favorite novels ever.

rcsreads's review

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3.0

I enjoyed Call of the Wild and White Fang but Sea Wolf was so mind numbingly boring that I couldn't finish it.
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