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emmaemmaemmaemma 's review for:
The Call of the Wild
by Jack London
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I am so disappointed when an otherwise adequate book is ruined by its ending.
Call of the Wild was going to be a 4 star read for me. I had decided this within the last 20 pages of the story. Buck is enjoyable as a protagonist, it’s an easy read, I was vibing.
However, the author decided to make up a Native American tribe to paint one final murderous villain for no reason. Truly no reason.
The ending of Call of the Wild suffers from the same syndrome that many books of the WWII era do in making Nazis the villains. It determines that the big scary villain of the era is Native American people, and paints them as such.
Buck could have easily been written to choose to leave his master as the call of the wild broke through to him (this would have been more satisfying of an ending I think) or the last human he held ties to could have died a myriad of other ways. But no, London had to create a villain to appeal to the unfounded sense of fear that spread through white America at the time.
*sigh* this is why I struggle to read to many classics. I often find myself disappointed when weak plot choices are made in order to throw in a race or gender commentary that ages like an egg, slowly rotting away at the rest of the story.
Call of the Wild was going to be a 4 star read for me. I had decided this within the last 20 pages of the story. Buck is enjoyable as a protagonist, it’s an easy read, I was vibing.
However, the author decided to make up a Native American tribe to paint one final murderous villain for no reason. Truly no reason.
The ending of Call of the Wild suffers from the same syndrome that many books of the WWII era do in making Nazis the villains. It determines that the big scary villain of the era is Native American people, and paints them as such.
Buck could have easily been written to choose to leave his master as the call of the wild broke through to him (this would have been more satisfying of an ending I think) or the last human he held ties to could have died a myriad of other ways. But no, London had to create a villain to appeal to the unfounded sense of fear that spread through white America at the time.
*sigh* this is why I struggle to read to many classics. I often find myself disappointed when weak plot choices are made in order to throw in a race or gender commentary that ages like an egg, slowly rotting away at the rest of the story.