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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
Revisiting an old classic
This book is fitting to read while they hiking the PCT. I feel the call of the wild. I know exactly what Buck is experiencing - it’s primal. My body is adapting. My muscles getting harder. An excess fat on my body melting off. I’m becoming a machine made for this trek. Strength and endurance.
I do wish there were any strong female characters in this book. We got a crying useless woman on the sled, a dog who dies immediately, a sappy wound caring dog of John thortons, and some stray female moose. Weak, weak, caregiver, mother. Need a little stronger messaging than that.
Love buck’s character. Relatable. Strong. Fierce. Driven. Quick witted. Loyal. Has a set of morals / rules but they are his own.
4.7⭐️
This book is fitting to read while they hiking the PCT. I feel the call of the wild. I know exactly what Buck is experiencing - it’s primal. My body is adapting. My muscles getting harder. An excess fat on my body melting off. I’m becoming a machine made for this trek. Strength and endurance.
I do wish there were any strong female characters in this book. We got a crying useless woman on the sled, a dog who dies immediately, a sappy wound caring dog of John thortons, and some stray female moose. Weak, weak, caregiver, mother. Need a little stronger messaging than that.
Love buck’s character. Relatable. Strong. Fierce. Driven. Quick witted. Loyal. Has a set of morals / rules but they are his own.
4.7⭐️
The author does a great job of making Buck's transition feel natural and engaging.
We discussed from favorite Jack London stories on the All the Books Show: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/episode-235-jack-london
We discussed from favorite Jack London stories on the All the Books Show: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/episode-235-jack-london
Buck is a big friendly dog who rules the yard of a large estate in California until he is stolen, transported to Alaska, and sold as a working dog. The book provides insight into Buck’s thoughts as he adapts to his new environment and is transferred to various owners as a sled dog. The main theme is the conflicting pulls of domestication vs. natural tendencies. How would your pet (or person) behave in nature if left to run wild? How would it behave with a different type of owner? And for that matter, how might a person behave if left in the wild? The book is interesting all the way through and would appeal to either gender of tweens and older.
would have liked it better if it made more sense in my brain... <3
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I...didn’t like it that much.
I know, it’s an external reading, so I shouldn’t be expecting a lot from it from the first place.
Okay, it’s a classic, and everyone seemed to think it’s a good book, but maybe the boiled-down version ruined the merits the original one has. Even so, I feel like this book tries too much to shove the ‘house-dog-turn-wild’ kind of notion into the readers’ mind. I get that it’s the main message of the story, but with the limitations of being a learners version book, it feels really forced—everything happened really quickly.
And another thing is, I don’t feel any connection with the main character. Not because he’s a dog, but it’s just flat for me. Again, I don’t know if it’s the shortness of this version that makes it so.
What I got from this book, though, was how cruel humans can be. Throughout the book, Buck was beaten over and over, passed on to several owners, many of them merciless. It says a lot about the culture back then, during the gold rush, and perhaps even continuing until now.
Overall, I believe it would be a better book if I read the original version, but I couldn’t really emotionally connect especially when the story proceeds at a pace so quick like this.
3 stars
I know, it’s an external reading, so I shouldn’t be expecting a lot from it from the first place.
Okay, it’s a classic, and everyone seemed to think it’s a good book, but maybe the boiled-down version ruined the merits the original one has. Even so, I feel like this book tries too much to shove the ‘house-dog-turn-wild’ kind of notion into the readers’ mind. I get that it’s the main message of the story, but with the limitations of being a learners version book, it feels really forced—everything happened really quickly.
And another thing is, I don’t feel any connection with the main character. Not because he’s a dog, but it’s just flat for me. Again, I don’t know if it’s the shortness of this version that makes it so.
What I got from this book, though, was how cruel humans can be. Throughout the book, Buck was beaten over and over, passed on to several owners, many of them merciless. It says a lot about the culture back then, during the gold rush, and perhaps even continuing until now.
Overall, I believe it would be a better book if I read the original version, but I couldn’t really emotionally connect especially when the story proceeds at a pace so quick like this.
3 stars
adventurous
adventurous
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Man... this book is quite brutal for something I believed to be a kid's book. No wonder I didn't read this growing up. Not sure how to accurately rate it but its an American adventure classic for a reason.
Enjoyable, quick read. Not as good in the second half when it focuses on human characters, and has some unfortunate relics of the time it was written in.