filipmagnus 's review for:

Martin Eden by Jack London, Andrew Sinclair
5.0

Martin Eden, by Jack London, is a many-headed beast, which held me from the very first page and has yet to let me go.

Martin Eden is, in some ways, an autobiographical work which incorporates a number of London's experiences, with Ruth Morse - Martin's love interest - being modeled after the author's first love, Mabel Applegarth. It also serves to illustrate London's disillusionment with the publishing industry of his time.

Martin Eden is a stark look at the clash between individualism and socialism, with the eponymous character being a firm believer in Spencer and Nietzche's philosophical views. The novel is, nevertheless, a very stark criticism of just these views, which eventually lead Eden to kill himself, having lost the will to live - or rather, the ability to enjoy, to feel life.

Martin Eden is a story of wrong and misguided perceptions, and the toll of consequent realizations - it's a simple thing to chalk it off as a tale of failed romance, but I never read it like one. There's too much there, between Martin and Ruth - in London's descriptions - to make one think that the story can end in anything other than tragedy.

Martin Eden is a tale of madness, and of success, and of so much more. A gripping narrative that is rich in philosophy and so much more. It is a book that need be read carefully, slowly, for best, lasting effect; and lastly, it's a book that may very well illustrate the dangers of too much knowledge, and the rifts that come with it.