|
| |||||||||||
What are readers saying about The Call of the Wild (Scholastic Classics)?
|
A Reader posted a review at 2007-11-18 12:13:35.
(Language: English)
 
"Call of the Wild" is the best novel i've read. It beautifully explains men's masculinity issues through the eyes a dog named Buck, and I presonally think that if god wrote a book, this would be it. There has never been a book that entered my mind so deeply, that set off so many emotions as this book. Buck's journey through the emotional and physical evolution in the praries of Alaska are frightening, tragic, funny and exhilirating, and it's a book i'd recommend to any man alive. It is my personal opinion, even if i'm risking a grave error, that women will never understand this book to the fullest. I apologize in advance, ladies. I'd never understand Sex and the City myself. :)
|
Yes (0) 
No (0) |
|
A Reader posted a review at 2010-04-25 08:53:13.
(Language: English)
Follow the journey of a simple dog named Buck as he heads north and finds his call of the wild.Overall, this is a good read.
|
|
Jared posted a review at 2011-01-15 04:48:55.
(Language: English)
I don't think he got dogs right at all.
|
|
|
A Reader posted a review at 2007-06-21 06:23:36.
(Language: English)
For some reason, "The Call of the Wild" has been regulated as a children's book, probably because its short, straightforward, and about a dog. I will admit to reading it as a young person, and I remember liking it because, well, it was short, straightforward, and about a dog. I never really thought of anything beyond that. Which is too bad really, because this is a well written book with a lot more than just a simple story about a dog. True, the surface narrative is about Buck, a dog kidnapped in California, brought to the Yukon during the height of the gold rush, and put to work as a sled dog. But Jack London has used this simple story to hang his ideas of nature, the purpose of man, and what he sees as our inner beings. Its a story of Man vs Nature, but more specifically its about Man vs the nature within himself.
|
|
|
A Reader posted a review at 2009-07-30 11:39:54.
(Language: English)
A captivating story about a dog named Buck, the Call of the Wild will keep your interest 'till the very end. Contrary to what I formerly thought, this is not because the book is so small. The story is so well written and the main character so well developed and London's imagination and adventuresome spirit so obviously enclosed here that it's no wonder it's a classic! Like all the dogs in the tale, Buck is written with a unique personality. He is stolen from his warm climate home and sold as a sled puller during the Klondike gold rush. Then he suffers, learns, and grows stronger and wilder. The instincts from his ancestors become irresistible. He must answer to the call of the wild.
|
|
|
A Reader posted a review at 2009-02-01 10:07:39.
(Language: English)
I liked it. I liked that it was all about the dog, and even cooler is that we are not so different. change it for a little kid, or adult and its very similar.Plus, that even though we are civilized people, sometimes, our actions doesnt really proove that. I can understand why this book was different from others at the time, there was some pretty disgusting stuff. but I liked it.(32)
|
|
|
Avi posted a review at 2009-11-16 03:00:19.
(Language: English)
This is one of my favorite books! I have a 6-year old German Shepard myself named Riley, and this book really put into wonderful words how smart and loving my dog is! For all you Jack London fans, I recently found a song online called Jack London, by a group called 5th Business. You can check them out here: http://www.tfbmusic.com/?page_id=5 Cheers!
|
|
Tory posted a review at 2010-05-20 08:11:27.
(Language: English)
Need to read the classics from time to time. Anyone who really knows me would understand this...
|
|
|
A Reader posted a review at 2008-04-01 05:14:34.
(Language: English)
Call of the wild is one of the best short stories i have read for quite a while. Before i read it a few people told me that it was just a kids book and i can understand how they may have thought this if they had not read it. You cannot though class it as just a kids book once you have read it. The themes of power, pain and struggle transcend, and as the primal instinct takes over buck you find it getting under your skin. London drives the story forward through evocative language and images that make it truly unforgettable
|
|
|
A Reader posted a review at 2010-05-01 03:16:19.
(Language: English)
one of the best book i have ever read....so beautiful..
|
|
|
A Reader posted a review at 2009-11-11 11:29:33.
(Language: English)
Sometimes, a novel read in childhood should be revisited as an adult. 'The Call of the Wild' is an excellent example of such a book. The story of Buck is a stripping away of civilized life, one harsh lesson at a time, until he reaches that primative, yet joyous core of self and pure instinct with the benefit of creative thought.
|
|
|
A Reader posted a review at 2009-07-31 11:44:10.
(Language: English)
Jack London's personal experience in the Klondike gold rush enabled him to write a compelling novel. He leads Buck from luxury and human companionship to the law of the fang, showing us the changes that took place in Buck to facilitate his own survival. Well written & loved by many, this classic should live on in our hearts and classrooms for a very long time.
|
|
|
A Reader posted a review at 2008-06-16 12:53:13.
(Language: English)
The Call of the Wild, by Jack London, is the story of a dog named Buck who is raised in a "sunkissed" country home with a loving and caring family, and is suddenly sold by the gardener. Buck finds himself in the freezing and hostile land of the Klondike, pulling a sled in search for gold. Or as he puts it, "the yellow metal." The call of the wild is, in fact, every creatures call to survive, to be wild, to eat or be eaten, to kill or be killed. This theme plays off the enlightenment view of Rousseau's "noble savage," or "natures gentleman," and of philosophical Naturalism. By honoring the rules of "club and fang," he is noble. By obeying the rules, he is savage. This same doctrine, so to speak, influenced Darwin's "survival of the fittest," which later inspired Hitler's self-theology of a master race.I give it a five-star for good presentation, negative one for idea.
|
|
|
A Reader posted a review at 2009-02-16 03:00:49.
(Language: English)
After having seen and read Into the Wild, a story that stirred a feeling of restlessness inside of me, I decided to read some of the stories that the protagonist of Into the wild, Christopher McCandless, read before he went away from society and into the wild. Call of the Wild is the story of the domesticated dog, Buck, who gets nicked by an employee of his owner and is sent to the wild Yukon district in North Western Canada during the Klondyke Gold Rush, and how Buck gradually transforms from a house pet into a rough and hardworking dog who is free from the bonds of society. London does well in explaining the gradual change within Buck, and the short story is interesting and compelling all the way through. A definite must-read, and a story that I will absolutely read again. And now, on to more Jack London and some Henry David Thoreau.
|
|
|
A Reader posted a review at 2009-10-28 10:23:37.
(Language: English)
This was a really wonderful book and I'm so glad I read it. For way way too long I'd dismissed it as "a kid's story." It is not that at all. It is the inspiring tale of a dog, wo through various trials and tribulations in the Alaskan wilderness, loses all traces of domestcitity and regains his sense of being a wild creature; and in fact the head of a pack of timberwolves by the end. I see inthis story a reflect of ourselves as creatures who at one time used to eb one with the wild, with nature, and were fully able to survive on our wits and strength and skills, and have now lost all of that due to "comforst" and "amenities" and "civilizing influences" -- and at the time this was written, with Alaska representing one of the few remaining true wilderness areas in the US, I can see this book might also have some implied message of what we've lost as humans as well. In fact I'm surprised schools ask kids to read this -- except for the fact that its short. But the story is soemwhat complex and uses langauge that, at times, it probably more than most young people could understand; and I seriously doubt they "get it" in terms of the domesticity vs wilderness theme I just mentioned.
|
|
|
A Reader posted a review at 2010-02-07 10:31:11.
(Language: English)
While I know it's a classic and I read it for work to encourage the students to get involved with the BIG READ this year, it's not something I would have read on my own. I like dogs, but not reading about them being abused. I feel a bit guilty for encouraging children to read this somewhat brutal book. Not to mention, while reading the book I always felt beyond cold.
|
|
|
Emily posted a review at 2007-09-22 08:54:30.
(Language: English)
It is amazing just how engrossing a book about a dog can be. Then again, this is also a tribute to the North and a time of exploration that is long gone--Jack London could have probably written this about a human, for the detail and love he gives his lead character, a furry boy called Buck. He's half St. Bernard, half Shepherd, with a mix-in of something a little more fierce that responds to his northern experience and the title of the book. Buck is a pampered pet who pretty much goes through life changes the superstitious cat would go through after he is kidnapped to be a sled dog in the Yukon gold rush. He experiences good owners and bad, but all lead him closer and closer to the wolfish instincts inside of him. It's a passionate book, surpising, and one can't help but be drawn into London's love for dogs and the world of the north. I guess there is just something inside of us that would also prefer the wild.
|
|
Thai posted a review at 2008-04-10 08:27:35.
(Language: English)
I never read this book in grade school or high school, so coming to this novel from an adult persepective, I definitely picked up on the wild/civilized theme running through the story. In fact, I think the book is a social commentary on human society through the tale of a dog. When faced with the "unknown", just like the territory far west of where men have traveled, where there may or may not be "gold" as rumored, kindness and compassion are always usurped by wild instincts and a innate want for protection of lands rightly believed to be ours. Such as was for the Yeehats as it was for Buck. At the end of the 19th century, when man was traversing areas that were "unknown", it left a society fearful of the "wildness" that could cause a crippling effect on the mores and laws set for by "proper" society. i think London glamorizes that innate wild calling while at the same time, supporting the societal fear that all laws go wayside to the Law of Club and Fang.
|
|
|
A Reader posted a review at 2008-11-24 08:07:02.
(Language: English)
Okay lets break it down. White Fang scores 3 out of 5. Largely compelling it is at times rushed and the ending left me a tad empty. It is, however, an honest tale. Not much dialogue the story is told from Fang's point of view. This obviously causes London to be more descriptive. I was left underawed by the technical side of the writing in the opening chapters but once the story kicked in it became less of an issue. Call Of The Wild (4 out of 5) more than justifies its status as London's opus. Although it is short, 80 odd pages, the savagery and surrounding themes of redemption and friendship strike home with greater potency. More importantly the writing is technically superior.
|
|
|
A Reader posted a review at 2010-01-18 11:04:45.
(Language: English)
It has been a long time since I last read this. This time around, I was a lot more aware of the savage nature of Buck and the reason for the title of the book. A part of me doesn't like this book because of how Buck was personified in the beginning of the book. I felt like his character was intended to be understood as a human, not as a dog and the change of this point of view later on in the book was a little disconcerting at the end. However, that may have been the intention of London.
|
|
|
A Reader posted a review at 2009-08-21 07:02:08.
(Language: English)
I think I started this book a long time ago, recommended by my brother Ben. It is awesome, and I can see why he liked it. This is a book for everyone, but I think it is especially appropriate for men. Honest men live in the balance between the wild and civilization. Something calls them to a less predictable, more demanding life while safety and commitment calls them back. In his rise from a pampered hunting dog to leader of a sled team, there are also leadership lessons that any man interested in his work could stand to learn. This is a great book, and short enough for anyone to enjoy, even if they are not an avid reader.
|
|
|
Sharon posted a review at 2010-08-22 12:30:48.
(Language: English)
I loved this book as a child and I still love it
|
|
|
A Reader posted a review at 2009-06-18 06:04:35.
(Language: English)
the problem is , how do we react to a situation more complex than the case of Buck? Its natural and not wrong for it to change as it was kidnapped from its cozy home and exported to a wild place where all the virtues and nice things are replaced by sins. nothing humane or virtuous work in this vicious environment. but things never get that simple. i never can decide what should i do when i have been trapped in the dilemma that i actually live in both of the above situation - my friends support me and i cant let them down while it is like living in the wild nature that requires basic instinct to survive those bastards' attacks. animal or human. sly, cruel, cunning or loving, faithful, and giving. What would Buck do? still the calm house dog or natural hunter with its heart sealed. ?
|
|
|
A Reader posted a review at 2007-08-08 04:20:44.
(Language: English)
Engrossing quick read, which can function on many levels. The novel could be merely the fascinating story of Buck, a successful sled-dog and his adventures in the pioneer West. But Call also functions as a discourse on the recent theories in evolution by Darwin and philosophy by Nietzsche. However, Nazis burned London’s books in bonfires. If only Buck was there. He’d have shown them a different conceptualization of the “law of fang and club.†He accomplishes much with an unsentimental power-driven mentality, but his greatest feat is forming a bond of love with his owner. Yet all the while, ominously buzzing low on the horizon is that call. He’s a magnificent animal, but in the final analysis, Buck’s an animal faced with a decision between man and wild.
|
|
|
A Reader posted a review at 2008-08-10 09:10:12.
(Language: English)
This is me favorite book.It tells the tail of a dog, the half breed of a German shepard and St Bernards, who lives with his owner on a wealthy estate in the south of America. One day he is unkowingly stolen by the gardener and sold to a malicious dog trainer in Alaska as the demand for dogs grows wild a the Klondike gets into full swing. From here the book goes on to describe Bucks adventures which eventually lead to him being the head of a wolf pack feared by Natives as a Deamon. The book is very well writen and is really worth a read.
|
Share your views!
Similar books
