- page-turning and frigid story from a dog’s viewpoint as he passes through various owners, most of whom mistreat him
- set in Alaska’s gold rush times
- convo: animals are frequently mistreated, a few people die, many dogs die, evolution alluded to a number of times
- language: devil (name call), damn (various forms) x5, G*d or L*rd (as a swear) x9, a man called a half-breed a few times (in narration, not direct name calling)
Type: chapter book
Ages: 12-18
Author: Jack London
If any one author could describe the rough wildness of nature, it is Jack London. Until recently, it had been many years since I last read this, and though it has a better ending than the last London story I read (To Build a Fire), it was still intense. And the cold is palpable!
I’m sure there are exceptions, but this story would be too much for most children under 12. Buck quickly becomes known as one of the smartest dogs the men had ever seen, but that didn’t protect him from bad owners. There is quite a bit of whipping and vivid descriptions of dogs’ injuries.
However, if you can brace yourself through those parts, London becomes quite thoughtful at times. Here’s a passage for an example (from chapter 3):
Here and there Buck met Southland dogs, but in the main they were the wild wolf husky breed. Every night, regularly at night, at twelve, at three, they lifted a nocturnal song, a weird and eerie chant, in which it was Buck’s delight to join.
With the aurora borealis flaming coldly overhead, or the stars leaping in the frost dance, and the land numb and frozen under its pall of snow, this song of the huskies might have been the defiance of life, only it was pitched in minor key, with long-drawn wailings and half-sobs, and was more the pleading of life, the articulate travail of existence. It was an old song, old as the breed itself—one of the first songs of the younger world in a day when songs were sad. It was invested with the woe of unnumbered generations, this plaint by which Buck was so strangely stirred. When he moaned and sobbed, it was with the pain of living that was of old the pain of his wild fathers, and the fear and mystery of the cold and dark that was to them fear and mystery. And that he should be stirred by it marked the completeness with which he harked back through the ages of fire and roof to the raw beginnings of life in the howling ages.
Jack London writes from personal experience, having lived in this part of the world for a time, interacting with real-life characters of all sorts, seeing the sled dog teams, hearing the sounds of the wild. He skillfully weaves these realistic elements with deep questions he has about the world. How connected are we to nature? What is inside of each of us that makes us want to break free from society? Or to be the master of our own lives, holding all the power? What is London communicating to us about his nihilistic worldview?
Like I said, there’s too much in this short book for most readers under 12 years old. At that age, however, they not only can make it through the harsher parts of the plot, but they are also able to have deeper conversations. This is a “deep conversation” book. Definitely read it when you’re ready.