A heart-touching story of a Sledge dog used by men who were in search of gold in the Yukon region. ( )

Being my first foray in reading Jack London, I have to say I was impressed with both The Call of the Wild and White Fang. One can really see that Jack London had a passion for nature as well as animals, and his abilities to observe and interpret those things are evident in his writing.

The thing that struck me most about reading The Call of the Wild and White Fang in one collection was how much the stories parallel each other. The Call of the Wild begins with Buck, a "soft Southland dog," who is stolen and sold as a sled dog to some men on their way to the Klondike gold rush. Buck is shocked by this new, harsh life in the cold North, but through his struggles his instincts harken back to his ancestors, and he learns what it means to survive in such a world. While I enjoyed The Call of the Wild, I will admit I did not like it as much as White Fang. The Call of the Wild to me was pretty bleak and depressing, and almost repetitive. The majority of the story involves Buck being handed off from one owner to another, and each new owner beats the living daylights out of him. That is, until he meets John Thornton who reminds him what it's like to have a "love relationship" with man. But then... John Thornton is killed by a raiding party of Indians. Buck loses all remnants of his "Southland" nature, and becomes like a true wolf, taking his revenge on the Indians. (And I am thoroughly reminded of how the film Jeremiah Johnson ends.... "The Indians have killed everyone I love, I shall kill them in revenge and become a legend." Anyone? Anyone?) Anyways. There is really little relief from the bleakness that pervades the story.

White Fang, on the other hand, goes much in the opposite direction. While The Call of the Wild begins on a happy note and ends on a sad one, White Fang starts out somewhat bleak and ends happy. However, you do not get the same unending bleakness that you experience while reading the bulk of The Call of the Wild. Interspersed with the instances of mankind's abuse to White Fang are incredible descriptions of the beauty and harshness of the North, as well as interesting insights on the instinct, nature and reasoning of a dog. White Fang begins with a couple of dog-mushers who are delivering the body of a wealthy man back to civilization. However, they encounter trouble with a starving pack of wolves, who slowly and cleverly begin picking off their sled dogs... and the men themselves. We soon discover that one of the wolves is White Fang's mother – a half-wolf, half-dog mix-breed. The story goes on to describe White Fang's birth and discovery of the world, as well as the various people he is owned by. His early life is not easy, and his nature is slowly consumed by hate and a vicious will to live. It is not until he meets his final owner, that he, like Buck, learns what it is to have a love-relationship with a man. His hate turns to extreme loyalty through whatever may happen. But, unlike Buck, White Fang departs from his wild wolf-nature in exchange for the love and happiness he experiences with his owner.

That is what makes reading these two stories back to back so interesting – the parallels. The way Buck's story begins is the way White Fang's ends. And I am a sucker for happy endings, thus probably one of the major reasons why I preferred White Fang. The other things I really liked about reading Jack London was the way he interpreted how a dog might think or perceive the world. It's believable – it seems like the way a dog actually would think, if they indeed think with such complexity. The fact that he doesn't anthropomorphize them makes it much more believable and interesting for me. Overall, I would individually give The Call of the Wild 3 stars, and White Fang 4. I would recommend it to dog and animal lovers, or anyone looking for a good nature adventure story.
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This is a beautiful cloth-bound copy of The Call of the Wild and White Fang. I received a copy of this book from Goodreads Giveaways. I love it! It is even nicer than it looks online, and the paper even feels nice and "fancy". These are two of favorite stories, and I love that they are included in one volume. ( )

I read this because it made a list of "Top Ten Books About Alaska." A turn of the 20th century story about a civilized California dog named Buck, who is stolen from civilization and transported to Alaska to be used as a sled dog during the Klondike Gold Rush. In the process of becoming a survivor in a true dog eat dog world, he exchanges civility for his inner wolf, and but for the love he finally shares with one human, he would ling since have answered the call of the wild and "returned" to his wolf pack. This where he ends the story, an Ur dog in an Ur pack somewhere between the reality of the Alaskan wilderness and the primordial world of the first hominids. As I type this, it sounds a bit cheesy, but I actually found this a good book to think with. Two things stood out to me; the treatment of animals seen as normative in this story reflects the world of the early 20th century, when all power was primarily horse power, and animals were thought of (and treated like) machines. The uncivilized treatment of Buck is a reflection on the time he lived and the place - Alaska, then as now, comes off as a thin margined, raw and real place of testing, where the rules are harsh and toughness is required. That reinforcement of Alaska's hard and harsh realities was the second lesson of this book. London's writing and keen powers of observation set this book apart. A good choice for an Alaska top 10 list, and an important reflection on the boundaries between, and the conditions conducive to, both civilization and the law of the wild. ( )

It is interesting to compare and contrast these books. White Fang has a wild dog brought gradually into civilization and tameness. The Call of the Wild has a tame dog gradually regress into wildness, finally joining a wolf pack.

THIS REVIEW HAS BEEN CURTAILED IN PROTEST AT GOODREADS' CENSORSHIP POLICY

See the complete review here:

http://arbieroo.booklikes.com/post/335148/post ( )