Never too Late to Read Classics discussion

The Call of the Wild will be our first Group Read for our new genre Frontier-Western Classics (FWC)!!

I am so excited about this new area for our Group!

Please join in with our Discussion Leader: Lars Martin!

That is great. I have been waiting to read it, but the wait is now ended. I already have it on my shelves.

This is such a great book. I have read it and am excited to re-read and see what the other members think. This is the perfect introduction to the genre of Western Classics because it is reasonably short and highly accessible.

The main character is a dog called Buck. Although this might look like a simple tale of survival, the book explores a lot of the common threads shared by classics in this genre. Our relationship with the environment, and conflicts that arise between individuals and in groups are raised. Justice, retribution and morality are also explored. The essential nature of humanity, the basis for society and our imperative to move towards it or lose it are also considered thru Buck's actions.

It is a very easy read but very rich in content. Can't wait to see what other members think.

I came across the book when I was randomly googling books and authors, and I just ordered it on a whim. I've never read a book from a dogs point of view before. That'll be something new and hopefully exciting.

I'm looking forward to reading it and discussing it with everyone.

Thanks Lars! I hope you enjoy the read!

Me and my Grandsons have watched the Movie White Fang, but I have not read it either as of yet.

So I cannot wait! Here is my edition:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Have people got their copy of Call of the Wild? It is nearly time to start our FWC read. :)

My library copy came last week.

It's time, folks! It's august 15.

Can't wait to get started. But first: the introduction by Lionel Kelly.

Edit: strike that. From the general introduction: "(...) We commissioned teachers and specialist to write wide ranging, jargon-free introductions and to provide notes that would assist the understanding of our readers rather than interpret the stories for them. In the same spirit, because the pleasures of reading are inseparable from the surprises, secrets and revelations that all narratives contain, we strongly advise you to enjoy this book before turning to he Introduction."

Alright then.

Thank you for that, Lars. I have learned from bitter experience to read the introduction last. I do not want to know all the plot developments in advance!

I want to read it since long ago, but my university library has not this book, so I cannot read it now.

Rafael, do you think you find it on-line, since it is a classic? It is not a very long book either.

Rafael, some people consider Call of the Wild a children's book. Maybe there is a copy at a public library that you can get.

I guess I would cannot read it in the original, so a portuguese translation would be difficult to find online.

Unfortunately here there's not a public library.

Rafael, there is a portuguese translation free online. I googled portuguese books online and found a site that had Jack London books at no cost. It was called portugues FreeEbooks.net. That is not the exact address but it should help you find it.

Oh. thank you very much. i will look at it. But I cannot assure my participation.

That's okay, Rafael. That was just for your information, and anybody else out there who reads Portuguese and can't find the book.

Great work, Rosemarie.

Thanks.

This book is such a quick read. I thought I'd get started and accidentally read almost the whole book this afternoon. This quote:
"this first theft marked Buck as fit to survive in the hostile environment. It marked his adaptability, his capacity to adjust to changing conditions, the lack of which would have meant a swift and terrible death… under the law of club and fang."

Really sums up whole theme of the novel doesn't it?

The violence is both understated and stark. The scene with the man with the red jumper near the beginning is terrible in its causal violence.

I recently finished a book called Wild Animals I Have Known by Ernest Thompson Seton. There is a certain amount of casual violence towards animals in this book as well.

I am in Lars!
I think I might be able to start tomorrow.

Grandsons have open house at their brand new school building and to meet the teachers and than they have soccer after that!

Anyone else in???

Rosemarie wrote: "That's okay, Rafael. That was just for your information, and anybody else out there who reads Portuguese and can't find the book."

I don't want to be ungrateful. I have not any e-reader and I cannot read in computers for long times, my eyes become tired and I lose my concentration. but I appreciate your effort to help me. Thank you very much.

Lesle wrote: "I am in Lars!
I think I might be able to start tomorrow.

Grandsons have open house at their brand new school building and to meet the teachers and than they have soccer after that!

Anyone else in???"

That's awesome Lesle.

Rafael, I totally understand about tired eyes. I love reading books, that are books!

ME TOO!
My job is mind tiring, so when I start to read I fall asleep, wake up read some more, find myself sleeping again.
Next day I do not recall anything I have read! :(

That is the description about me I guess.

I have fallen asleep over a book too. You can tell you are tired when you read the same page three times. The opposite has happened to me too. I have been reading an exciting book and then can't get to sleep.

I'm making slow progress. It's not because I don't like the book, but because I've got a lot on my plate. Nevertheless I've finished chapter one and two.

I got to say that the first chapter made my blood pumping. The brutality of the casual violence against Buck was disturbing.

Anyone else getting mad at the thought of dogs (or anything or anyone, really) getting treated that way? Break or die. Whack! Break or die. Whack!

So it goes, as Kurt Vonnegut would have said.

The first two chapters did have some brutal scenes, but unfortunately there are animals treated that way today. We can hope that the dogs in the book were treated that way because of ignorance. That doesn't excuse, but helps to explain it. There is no excuse for such behaviour towards animals today.
The fact that Buck was kidnapped makes me wonder where some of the other dogs came from.

(view spoiler)[Poor Curly, hey? (hide spoiler)]

I noticed that none of the other characters are really fleshed out. Only Buck is fully realised as a character. I wonder if this was a stylistic/ deliberate choice?

Very little of the book is given over to sentimentality, with just one exception later in the book and even that is pared down to the bone.

London's message seems to be (using Buck's experience as an allegory) that man holds on to a thin veneer of civility which could easily be stripped back. I'm not sure I buy the message. I don't think humans are naturally vicious or selfish and act altruistically or kindly only out of social obligation.

Is that what London is trying to say, or have I misread his intention?

After reading chapter 3, I can see why this book is named The Call of the Wild. Buck certainly has changed from the pampered dog of the "Southland". There is certainly a lot of violence so far.

I started last night. My intro is from American writer Gary Paulsen. A three-time Newbery Honor winner, also winner of the 1997 Margaret A. Edwards Award.

He explained the book as more like a documentary for Jack London as he experienced what he wrote in the novel.

I am sure that kidnapping of the dogs was an easy way for workers of farms or non-workers in the US to make quick cash. Steal the dog and sell it, they were out anything other than time. Since the population of dogs in Alaska during the gold rush were so much on demand made it a quick cash flow for criminals.

Thank you for that info, Lesle. It explains a lot. The conditions in the north were difficult for everyone in the winter.

Lesle wrote: "I started last night. My intro is from American writer Gary Paulsen. A three-time Newbery Honor winner, also winner of the 1997 Margaret A. Edwards Award.

He explained the book as more like a docu..."

The documentary element is interesting. At times I think the language is a bit too detached and dispassionate. It perfectly fits a documentary tone though.

After reading four chapters, I see that Buck has settled into his new life- a life of toil and struggle. It is not surprising that some of the dogs have died, but each has died in a different way. This shows us again the harshness of the environment for both the men and the dogs. The distances covered by dogsled were long and at times treacherous.

I now have finished five chapters. This chapter depicts what happens to those who come to the north unprepared. The poor sled dogs suffered under the hands of the fools, who paid the price for not heeding the warning of a northener.

Chapter six is the most moving and positive chapter in the book. Buck now has a relationship with a human worthy of him. But in this chapter he has also started hearing "the call of the wild".

I stayed up late to finish the book, and the ending was a bit of a surprise. I expected that Buck might go to the wild, but not in such a dramatic way. This is not my usual type of book, but I am glad I read it. I have a copy of White Fang, which I plan on reading as well in order to compare the two books.

Its a very powerful ending. I think it is a strong symbol of how utterly he has transformed

I just finished Chapter 3.

'The Call of the Wild' hmmm...

Buck has gone through so much in the first three chapters that I am stunned, at how fast he has learned to take care of himself and survived by being sneaky, watchful and smarter by experience, of 1x through is all he needs.

By defeating Spitz he has giving himself the lead.

This is a fast-paced book; there is a lot of action packed into such a small book. What I noticed was the hardship endured by the people as well as the dogs, and the dangers of being unprepared for the climate are also shown, in which the dogs suffer more than the humans.

I'm sorry for my absence over the last two days. It's been a busy week at work.

Just finished the book though, and got to say that I liked it very much. I loved the chapter when Buck discovered love. It's so beautifully written. The details London notices.

What do you say? Wanna read White Fang while we're at it?

Lauren wrote: "[spoilers removed]

I noticed that none of the other characters are really fleshed out. Only Buck is fully realised as a character. I wonder if this was a stylistic/ deliberate choice?

Very littl..."

I don't know Lauren. I think Jack London just wanted to give a voice to a dog. See it's transformation from a house dog to a wild beast.

No matter how one interprets the story, I think it is relevant today. It says something about animal cruelty (and kindness) at the very least.

I was planning to start reading it next week, since I have a copy of the book sitting on my shelf.

Rosemarie wrote: "I was planning to start reading it next week, since I have a copy of the book sitting on my shelf."

I got a two in one book.

That's even handier. My Call of the Wild was from the library.

That is why I am going to try White Fang. I have found that animal stories are generally sad, this book had a lot of violence as well. Unfortunately, I have the feeling that London only depicted what actually occurred up there, only this time from Buck's point of view.

After starting Chapter 4 I could not put the book down for long periods (until I fell asleep) but picked it back up this morning and finished it.

Chapter 4 is Buck making his place in the team and not accepting anything less.

When the Government work was over and they were sold off to Charles, Hal and Mercedes, you realize how much the Gold Fever was in the human race. Having no experience in the ways of dog sledding they used and abused the dogs in a different ways than just the whip and club. They were idiots and rightly so lost Buck to John Thornton in chapter 5.

No matter what happened from that point on the Love of that one man overruled in Bucks heart. Chapter 6 saw that Buck would do anything for love and loyalty.

The ending, chapter 7, could be taken as Folklore but I think from Mr. Paulsen's introduction it was more truth than anything.
My review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I enjoyed the book and would love to read White Fang!

Is anyone planning to read White Fang? It has been so long since I read it that I can't remember what happens in it.

I will be starting it soon, and Lars mentioned it earlier. It makes sense to read it now in order to compare the two books, especially since Call of the Wild is a short book.