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A review by msand3
The People of the Abyss by Jack London, Nonfiction, Social Issues, Homelessness & Poverty by Jack London
4.0
London’s nonfiction examination of the poor in the East End of London is influenced by Carlyle (whom he often quotes) and was surely inspired by Riis’ [b:How the Other Half Lives|882203|How the Other Half Lives|Jacob A. Riis|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390174770l/882203._SY75_.jpg|163917] and Engels’ [b:The Condition of the Working Class in England|824042|The Condition of the Working Class in England|Friedrich Engels|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348259744l/824042._SY75_.jpg|496446], while in turn inspiring Orwell’s later personal narratives. The book is divided into two sections, with the first half being London’s first-hand account of living and working in the slums to get a sense of the conditions, and the second half a collection of essays that examine the impossible economics of the working poor and homeless who must work long hours for starvation wages while living in abject poverty and filth. It is a sobering read. What makes it all the more depressing is how London -- who had previously lived as a tramp in the U.S. west and had a pretty rough life growing up -- is unable to spend more than 24 hours in these conditions before heading back to his comfortable inn to change clothes, eat, and sleep. The two sections of the book are divided by a chapter in which London describes witnessing the coronation of Edward VII, contrasting the glitter and opulence with the sordid conditions he had just experienced. London is particularly critical of religious hypocrites -- his experience with the Salvation Army paints them as predatory proselytizers who treat the poor like cattle under the guise of charity.
My one criticism is that London glosses over the experiences of women. Every person profiled in the first half is a man, and London only makes oblique references to the lives of women who must work for less money, raise children, and fall into prostitution when their husbands die or become disabled. London devotes a chapter in the second half to the plight of children, but the experiences of women receive no real attention. This is an unfortunate and surprising oversight.
Even so, this remains an important book for understanding London’s later fiction and political views, and should be read alongside other 19th and early-20th-century socialist depictions of poverty and class. I would suggest reading it before venturing into any of London’s later fiction, as it seems to be a touchstone for the themes fleshed out in his later novels and stories.
My one criticism is that London glosses over the experiences of women. Every person profiled in the first half is a man, and London only makes oblique references to the lives of women who must work for less money, raise children, and fall into prostitution when their husbands die or become disabled. London devotes a chapter in the second half to the plight of children, but the experiences of women receive no real attention. This is an unfortunate and surprising oversight.
Even so, this remains an important book for understanding London’s later fiction and political views, and should be read alongside other 19th and early-20th-century socialist depictions of poverty and class. I would suggest reading it before venturing into any of London’s later fiction, as it seems to be a touchstone for the themes fleshed out in his later novels and stories.