“But especially he loved to run in the dim twilight of the summer midnights, listening to the subdued and sleepy murmurs of the forest, reading signs and sounds as a man may read a book, and seeking for the mysterious something that called — called, waking or sleeping, at all times, for him to come.”
Jack London, The Call of the Wild
Title: The Call of the Wild
Author: Jack London
Genres: Classics, Adventure
Pages: 120 (Modern English Translation)
Published: 1903
My Rating: ★
Read: 6/13/2022
Review:
I went into this blindly. I thought I knew what the plot was about but I was way off. Had I known, I don’t think I would have picked it up. I have a very low tolerance for animal abuse and violence. I read on since this is a classic (and not a long one at that) hoping it would improve. I also don’t like heavily accented writing because it messes with my brain and throws off the rhythm of my reading. My rating is solely on personal taste. I can see why it’s a classic and why people like it, but I couldn’t get past the gruesome content.
Afterthoughts:
I bought this book a while ago and I didn’t notice until I picked it up and started reading that it was labeled Modern English translation. I don’t know if reading the original text would have changed my opinion, but I don’t think so. It was the injury to animals that made me hate it. The only part of the book I even remotely found myself enjoying was when John Thronton came into the picture. Still, it wasn’t the content I enjoyed, more the idea.
As I mentioned in my review, I had been assuming the plot incorrectly for years. I thought it was a story along the lines of Walden or Into The Wild. This might have been influenced by an episode of the old sitcom Taxi which has a plot somewhat along these lines and is titled The Call of the Mild. This might have also been assigned reading in high school that I ignored. (If so, I’m glad I did. Had I read this then I don’t think I would have ever wanted to pick up a book again.)