Never too Late to Read Classics discussion

I plan to read this book, Before Adam by Jack London. Someone wants to read it with me? If so post here. I guess, based in its shortness, one month it's time enough to discuss it.

So, who wants to read it?

I have never heard of this book, but I will see if I can find it. It looks interesting.

It is the story of a man who dreams he lives the life of an early hominid Australopithecine.

The story offers an early view of human evolution. The majority of the story is told through the eyes of the man's hominid alter ego, one of the Cave People. In addition to the Cave People, there are the more advanced Fire People, and the more animal-like Tree People.

Other characters include the hominid's father, a love interest, and Red-Eye, a fierce "atavism" that perpetually terrorizes the Cave People. A sabre-cat also plays a role in the story.

Rosemarie if your ok with Kindle gutenberg.org has it for free.

I'm in!
I ordered a book! So I will need about a week (5 days) to finish up with the Secret Garden and receive the book in the mail. I will let you know when I get it Rafael.

Our library system has an ecopy, but I also have some books to finish. I can start in about a week as well.

I'm really big fan of Jack London works and didn't heard about this book either.
but it sounds nice! I think I'll be in too :) [ if I'll find a copy]
And I found!

Can I get some details about the story? I read it here in goodreads but it not enough, it's very general.

I started it today. I Still have not opinion about it.

Emiliy200 wrote: "Can I get some details about the story? I read it here in goodreads but it not enough, it's very general."

Read the post #3!

Rafael I placed it on the Home Page like you asked. Hopefully gets more attention that way!

Rafael wrote: "Emiliy200 wrote: "Can I get some details about the story? I read it here in goodreads but it not enough, it's very general."

Read the post #3!"

Yeah, I saw it now, Lesle wrote about it and ionly now I saw it. sound like intersting book.

Thank you, Lesle!

I have read two chapters so far. I think the author is still doing the background for the story.

Never hurt to try something new and different.

How did you get a book that fast Rosemarie?

I am reading a free ebook from Project Gutenberg. The book is fairly short, so reading it as an ebook is fine for me.
I didn't download it, I am just reading it from the screen. Project Gutenberg is a good resource for books in the public domain.

I was wondering! Still waiting on my hard copy. Maybe today!

I am almost finishing it. I don't know what think about it. It's a interesting story. Jack London really likes spiritism-like stories, isn't? The Star Rover is a bit similar.

I finish it. The ending is the best part of the book.

I am curious about the anthropological part of this book. Who could be the Fire people, the Tree people and the cave People? Cro magnon? Neanderthals?

I have just finished the book. It is an interesting look at human evolution.
There is a movie that comes to mind called Quest for Fire, as well as the novel Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel.
This book is a change of pace for Jack London, almost speculative fiction. He does paint a convincing picture of what life may have been like back then.

I watched this movie some years ago, I don't remember well, but I liked it. I read this book by Auel. It is a interesting book.

I got my book last night! It has 3 other novels and 49 short stories in it. Im excited about reading some of his other works than just Call of the Wild and White Fang!

Going to start reading it at lunch time!

What are the other novels, Lesle? I didn't realize just how many books and stories London wrote other than the two you mentioned.

Rosemarie
Here is a link to the book. It is a monster over 700 pages!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

The Novels are:
- The game
- The cruise of the Dazzler
- A daughter of the Snows

I actually thought some of the short stories sounded interesting as well!

I found this while reading about Jack London, interesting...

Jack London's "Credo"
I would rather be ashes than dust!
I would rather that my spark should burn out
in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot.
I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom
of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.
The function of man is to live, not to exist.
I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time.

Thanks for the link and the poem.

Just finished Chapter 2, not sure I can read anymore today at work. (too much going on)

London is talking about his dreams as a small child, (not sure what adult remembers that much about their dreams when they are that young).

So he is wondering about why his dreams have no humans in them? Why he dreams about falling but never hitting bottom?
So he defines himself a freak. Must be hereditary and it is because he is an ancestor of the Tree People?

I thinking his mind...?

Here are some facts:

London was an illegitimate child of poverty and an atheist.

At the age of 30 London's life has gone through a lot. While in the Klondike he was malnourished had scurvy (age 21). Scurvy is so painful in the major muscle groups. Was imprisoned for 30 days it was so degrading to him that it changed his life.

He also, as a lot of writers from that time, an Alcoholic. He died at the age of 40 with some wondering if he did not commit suicide intentional or not. He was on Morphine at the time for his constant pain.

I did not know about these things. Sad end of life.

I agree Rafael, harsh and sad life.

His dreams have led to prehistoric times with very detailed description of his Mother and Father that seem to be from the
very beginning of the evolution of the human race.

His father has disappeared from him and his mother with no clue of what might have happened.His mother had another man in her life so he distanced himself from her.
(Real life he was a child of an unwed mother and a prominent father that had nothing to do with him, later she married a civil war vet by the last name of London).

So the stepfather moved them to a village of sorts in caves, the villagers named Folk. Red-Eye was a monster that had reverted back to the time of the Tree People. With a smack on the head he was accepted into the Folk.

Lop-Ear and him tried to win over puppies and take them back to the cave. They turned out to be hyenas.

Lop-Ear figured out how to paddle to swim not having the instinct to do so. They did figure out how to stay a float of a log and not have it roll on them. The also built a tree house instead of living in a too small cave as they grew up.

They met the Swift One a mild manner female and much prettier than the females from the Folk. They both were enthralled with her, not like any other, very calm except when it came to escaping.

Just finished chapter 10. I have a better outlook now.

I do like the relationship between him and Lop-Ear. They seem to act as brothers or very good friends.

They really are like brothers.

Now him and Lop-Ear are picking on an old man from the Tree People and they seem to take great joy in it, soon the whole Tree People clan and chased them as if in a hunt.

The Fire Men seemed to be more advanced, fire, bows and arrows. Each type of person seemed similar but different enough too. After the Fire People left the next morning they got to discover what Fire was with burnt fingers. With their lack of knowledge they ended up unknowingly setting the forest on fire.

The Fire people seems be most advanced Homo, maybe Homo Cro Magnon or Homo erectus. But I am not sure.

The fire people could communicate by talking and used teamwork.

I think you are probably right with your thought Rafael I think closer to the Erectus.
My thought is that Lop-Ear and him are the very beginning, more ape like from the descriptions of the father and mother and their lack of or barely any communication.

So Lop-Ear marries his Sister Chatterer, they never seemed to get a long well and it made it hard for him and Lop-Ear to be friends.
They were attacked by the Fire People and Chatterer was killed. Lop-Ear's loss was never noticed and the went back to being buddies.

So why did he get married? They never got along?

I think that because they couldn't communicate very well with each other, it was more of a mating urge (certain species mate for life) than an actual marriage.

Red Eye tried to hunt down the Swift One in hopes of marrying. It was almost as if he wanted her dead. Not sure how this type of action could warrant marriage?

The Fire People drove the Folk out by smothering them in smoke and driven out of the land into the swamp and outside their territory. The Fire People managed to follow throught the swamp and chased them even further.

He and the Swift One had child and the had to learn to live off the sea. They ended up living and rearing their family on a high bluff.
Here his memories end.

Did he have multiple personalities? or an alter ego?
Did he truly have decendents from the Folk?
The Tree People were they the next in line?
I believe the Fire People since they used tools seemed to be more of the Homo Sapiens in the chain of humans.

Has anyone read Clan of the Clave Bear? The book is well researched, and the author mentions that it was believed that some of the early men had a "racial memory". They could remember events that happened to their ancestors.
If they were just dreams, they were certainly very vivid.

I read it, Rosemarie. But I guess that it was well researched in its time. New discoveries show that this book is now dated, but I cannot remember what is the "new discoveries". I don't remember a lot about the book to show the differences.

About our read, the book tell us that the Fire People, the Cave People and the Tree People was kind similar in appearance, isn't? Just minor differences, so probably they are related. They belong to the same branch of Homo species.

I think they were all at different stages of evolution.

Anthropologically speaking, maybe, but not biological one, I guess.