Summary: Classic children’s books about a dog that is kidnapped to work the Klondike Gold Rush.
I remember reading Call of the Wild as a child. I am sure it has been over 25 years since I last read it. But it still seemed quite fresh in my mind.
Jack London wrote clear prose. He feels like a western writer (like Zane Gray or Louis L’Amour). In fact I would not be surprised if I read this after reading some Louis L’Amour books. I had several uncles that were long haul truck drivers. And they spent a lot of time reading on their off time. The westerns were passed around frequently and I think that I probably read most of L’Amour’s books by the time I was 13. I am not sure if the prose feels similar because they were writing at a similar time, or because there is a similar western individualism that is flowing through the authors.
The Call of the Wild is clearly a children’s book in orientation. It is told in third person, primarily from Buck’s perspective. It is not Buck (the dog) narrating but a unknown narrator that is telling Buck’s story.
