The Call of the Wild, White Fang and Other Stories Book

Growing up in California almost equidistant from their hometowns, John Steinbeck resonated with me more than Jack London. Other than reading "To Build a Fire" (thank you, Mr. Libolt!), I knew almost nothing about London. I didn't even know that we attended the same school (U.C. Berkeley), much less that he led such a fascinating life. I like to think that I can appreciate him more now that I also have time to enjoy animals and the outdoors.

This Oxford collection is the best place to start. It is edited and introduced by London's leading biographer, Earle Labor. The Notes, Chronology and selected bibliography are most helpful,
but beware, the "Introduction" contains far too many spoilers.

All seven stories feature man's best friend, a wolf or hybrid of the two. "The Call of the Wild" and "White Fang" really should be read together and not just because the former begins and the latter ends in my birthplace, Santa Clara (AKA Silicon) Valley! Both feature descents into Hell and the capacity for growth and redemption.

Two stories included, "Brown Wolf" and "That Spot" rarely appear in other collections and are quite good. I would save "That Spot" for last, especially if you have not read "To Build a Fire" before. I would skip "Batard" and "Moon-Face." I found no redeeming qualities in either dark tale.

The thing I found most fascinating about this collection is London's efforts to get inside the heads of his canine protagonists. The human characters are constantly amazed at how smart a dog/wolf can be. London puts it best in "That Spot" when he observes, "I can't express myself about that intelligence. It is beyond mere words. I saw it, that's all. At times it was like gazing into a human soul, to look into his eyes, and what I saw there frightened me and started all sorts of ideas in my mind about reincarnation and all the rest" (p. 332). Even though this is a work of fiction, I didn't find myself suspending disbelief, except when London describes White Fang as getting angry when people laugh at him. Implausible, right?

Unfortunately, London's intermittent racism seeps through at times. He refers to his most prominent Native American character as a "savage" and his spouse a "squaw" and baby as a "papoose"--making it all the easier to justify killing or corralling members of the "First Nation." In London's defense, the vast majority of leaders, even in my beloved California, were like the Trumpster a century ago. Also, almost no one residing in the Klondike comes across well.

Bottom line: I will definitely be reading more Jack London. "Sea Wolf" is at the top of my list.