Buck did not read the newspapers...

of course he didn't. he was too busy being a badass. chasing down a big ass moose. saving john thornton's life. killing the indians who killed john thornton. running with the other wolves. winning bets. bitch slapping other dogs who got out of line.

buck's first snow experience...
"At the first step upon the cold surface, Buck's feet sank into a white mushy something very like mud. He sprang back with a snort. More of this white stuff was falling through the air. He shook himself, but more of it fell upon him. He sniffed it curiously, then licked some up on his tongue. It bit like fire, and the next instant was gone. This puzzled him He tried it again, with the same result. The onlookers laughed uproariously, and he felt ashamed, he knew not why, for it was his first snow."

buck's first theft...
"This first theft marked Buck as fit to survive in the hostile Northland enviroment. It marked his adaptability, his capacity to adjust himself to changing conditions, the lack of which would have meant swift and terrible death. It marked further decay or going to pieces of his moral nature, a vain thing and a handicap in the ruthless struggle for existence. It was all well enough in the Southland, under the law of love and fellowship, to respect the private property and personal feeling; but in the Northland, under the law of club and fang, who so took such things into account was a fool, and in so far as he observed them he would fail to prosper."

just before buck's first kill...
"All that stirring of old instincts which at stated periods drives men out from the sounding cities to forest and plain to kill things by chemically propelled leaden pellets, the blood lust, the joy to kill - all this way Buck's, only it was infinitely more intimate. He was ranging at the head of the pack, running the wild thing down, the living meat, to kill with his own teeth and wash his muzzle to the eyes in warm blood."

after winning a bet for his best bud john thornton...
"'Gad, sir! Gad sir!' spluttered the Skookum Beach king. 'I'll give a thousand for him, sir, a thousand, sir - twelve hundred, sir.'
Thornton rose to his feet. His eyes were wet. The tears were streaming frankly down his cheeks. 'Sir,' he said to the Skookum Beach king, 'no sir. You can go to hell, sir. It's the best I can do for you, sir.'

as the man who recommended the book to me would say, "yee-haw."
this book fucking rocked.

'vaya con los lobos!'

Maravilloso relato de Jack London, “La llamada de la naturaleza” o también “La llamada de lo salvaje” (“The call of the wild”, original en inglés) e incluso “La llamada de la selva” (primera edición en castellano, en 1939), fue publicado por primera vez en 1903 en los Estados Unidos de América. “La llamada de la naturaleza” está considerada como una de las obras maestras del período de juventud del autor y es uno de sus libros más leídos.

A finales del S. XIX, London se sumó a la llamada “fiebre del oro de Klondike”, fenómeno consistente en la másiva inmigración a la busqueda de oro, ocurrida en dicha época hacia el rio Klondike, en el territorio de Yukón, Canada. Está éspoca y, fundamentalmente, las duras condicones de vida en la zona, inspiraron y ambientaron diversas de las narraciones de London en dicho período, entre ellas “La llamada de la naturaleza” o también, las conocidas “Colmillo blanco” y “Encender una hoguera”, entre otras.

No obstante, ante la declaración pública por parte del profesor y también escritor, Egerton Ryerson Young, de que el texto de London había sido “tomado” de su libro “My dogs in the Northland” (1902), London reconoció haber usado la obra de Young como fuente y, así mismo, declaró haberle escrito una carta a Young en agradecimiento. De hecho, London tuvo diversas acusaciones de plagio a lo largo de su carrera. El autor reconoció que, en su método de trabajo, utilizaba notícias de periódico y otros materiales como fuentes de inspiración.

Sea como fuere, aún partiendo de una inspiración ajena, “La llamada de la naturaleza” es una magistral y emocionante narración de la historia de un perro llamado Buck. Inicialmente encontramos a Buck viviendo en un soleado rancho en California, en unas condiciones cómodas y confortables y, por tanto, llevando una vida agradable y placentera. La cosa se complica cuando el jardinero, endeudado por su adicción al juego, roba y vende a Buck a unos comerciantes desaprensivos que lo trasladan a Alaska para ser revendido como perro de trineo.

A partir de este momento, las condiciones de vida de Buck pasan a ser cada vez más duras y crueles, teniendo este que enfrentarse tanto a rudos y violentos malostratos por parte de algunos de sus tenedores humanos como a encendidas rivalidades con sus “compañeros”, los otros perros que se encuentran en su misma situación. Dichas rivalidades llegan al extremo de derivar en violentas y sangrientas luchas por la supervivencia. Todo ello enmarcado en las también extremas condiciones de vida del salvaje e implacable entorno de las inmediaciones del Círculo Polar Ártico, con unas temperaturas, en invierno, de varias decenas de grados bajo cero.

Así pues, la narración de London resulta extraordinaria, nos adentra de lleno, con verdadera crudeza y realismo, en las vivencias, sensaciones y sentimientos de Buck así como nos hace “vivir” las referidas extremas condiciones del territorio salvaje en que se desarrolla la acción. London, además, define y desarrolla, con auténtica maestría, todo un elenco de personajes, tanto humanos como caninos e incluso lobunos, con los que interactúa y se relaciona Buck. En tales relaciones encontramos sentimientos tan diversos como el amor y el compañerismo como la crueldad y el más puro, salvaje y despiadado instinto de supervivencia. Una brillante característica que cabe destacar de dicha narración es que, el autor, dota a Buck (y al resto de animales) de perfectas cualidades “humanas” que les permiten sentir y razonar cómo si de personajes humanos se tratara, con lo cual, London, consigue llevar al lector al corazón de Buck y hacerle “vivir” (al lector) de pleno todos los acontecimientos de la magnífica historia.

En definitiva, brillante y, a la vez, conmovedor y estremecedor relato que atrapa al lector y que se lee de una tirada. Lectura, por tanto, más que recomendable, imprescindible, que consigue emocionar y hacer vibrar al lector al nivel de la mejor literatura.

O meu primeiro livro de Jack London, e não podia ter corrido melhor. Caí de chapa em plena natureza selvagem; como se tivesse atravessado em correria pradarias ao calor do sol, como se tivesse sido eu a palmilhar milhas com um trenó às costas levando com a neve e a chuva nas trombas, perdido o fôlego ao cair num rio de águas geladas, remoinhos, rápidos e rochas pontiagudas. Doeu-me tudo!
Doeu-me ainda mais a maldade humana, a arrogância do homem capaz de escravizar e maltratar animais, e emocionei-me com a "humanidade" de um cão. Mas um cão é um animal domesticado que já viveu em liberdade absoluta, e mais tarde ou mais cedo a sua herança selvagem vem ao de cima.

Uma estória para cativar qualquer um, em especial aqueles que tem uma relação próxima com a malta de quatro patas.

Wow, I’m shocked with how much I loved this classic!

The audiobook of this was just excellent.

Pablo Schreiber knocks it out of the park for me on narrating The Call of the Wild.
His voice tells me the story of Buck, the strong and brave dog that survives man and beast. I got a bit teary eyed at the end because he relates this book so well on this dog's life journey.

Like most, I’ve seen tons of movies for The Call of the Wild so I was not surprised by the plot.
I still don’t feel that the movies can give you an unflinching look at how wild and brutal the Canadian wilderness was that’s in this book.

It’s based in 1890s during the Klondike Gold Rush in the Yukon area.
The gold frenzy has gripped the area and prospectors are coming to the Canadian wilderness in droves.

And the only thing that can transport these treasure hunters around are dogs.
Amazing sled dogs that travel hundreds of miles in the freezing cold and snow.

The Call of the Wild is just long enough to relay the amazing life and journey of this dog, but not too long that it trips all over itself in unnecessary details.

The book is brilliant, heart wrenching and thoughtful on how animals relate in a survival setting.
The cunning and strong do survive!

The book does have animal abuse and cruelty, but I felt it was historical on how it’s portrayed.
Did I like those scenes? Hell no! I’m a dog owner/lover but I also know that this was a different time.
In the 1890s, they worked dogs and used them like a tool.

As an animal lover, I cheered for Buck throughout the entire book.
I mean, who doesn’t love a scrappy survivor, even if it's in shaggy and drooling form?!

I feel this book is a must read for fans of the classic book genre. I’m so glad I finally got to it and the audiobook for this was just great!

I defy anyone - man, woman or child - not to like The Call of the Wild. It's the most exciting adventure, the most moving love story, the deepest meditation on a creature and its place in nature. If you aren't cheering for Buck the dog by the end of this you're either hard-hearted or a cat-lover.

First off I should say that London is a great writer. This is the first book I've read of his. His description of the Alaskan terrain is incredible. I have never been to Alaska but when I read this book I could picture it in my head very clearly.

However, that does not take away what I think of the story itself. It wasn't bad. It was interesting, but I could not seem to grasp exactly what London's point was. Was it animal cruelty? Was it the wild should be kept wild? Or is there some hidden social message? There are numerous other themes that I could guess at but I couldn't pinpoint the particular one London was trying to express. It did get me thinking but in more of a jumble of thougts instead of just focused on one.

There are parts where the narrator (third person) seems very detached as if he were giving a documentary on Buck. Now Buck is an amazing dog, no doubt about it. He goes against all odds and learns how to survive the wild northland leaving his legend. But nevertheless he is a dog and maybe I'm bias since I usually only read books about humans but I could only see Buck as a dog. Don't get me wrong, I was cheering him on the whole time. I wanted him to have his happily ever after but the ending didn't give me that satisfaction. Maybe it's a happily ever after for a dog but not for me.

Wow, this book is intense. I'm glad I read it, but I don't think I'll do so again.

Meanwhile in 2025: Huh … guess I’m a liar

3.5/5

The Call of the Wild is told from the dog Buck's point of view.

I read this as a teenager but I don't remember much of it. I do remember that I received it as a Christmas present and that it was part of a package of classic books, but that's about it.

I'm glad I re-read this, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I did back in the day,(if I remember correctly). I am not a person that enjoys anything with animal abuse and as I get older I find myself less and less tolerant of those sorts of scenes.

Overall though, this book was interesting and kind of neat,being that it was told from the dog's POV.

Finally finished one of the many books on my currently-reading! Able to listen to this one on my drive home tonight. (Only 5 more)

I enjoyed this, just depressed me a bit... RTC

Jack London went prospecting for gold in the Yukon as a young man. He was following a popular craze — a rush for fortune in the great Arctic North. After incredible hardships and nearly dying of scurvy, London returned to California with four dollars worth of gold dust, his northern adventure a seeming failure. Yet he did carry a fortune with him out of those harsh, northern climes — a fortune in stories and tales that would soon establish his fame as America’s most popular author. The Call of the Wild was the biggest, most glittering nugget in that hoard.

Many now think of The Call of the Wild primarily as a boy’s action adventure. It was presented to me thus at about ten years old, in the form of a Classics Illustrated comic book. It certainly works on that level. It’s a short novel, a hero’s journey tale, following the protagonist, Buck, on his journey from domesticated dog, through hardships and trials as he travels back to the roots of his species, answering the call of the wild, and becoming a magnificent, dominant beast leading a northern wolf pack. That the point of view protagonist is a dog makes it all the better as an exciting tale for boys.

But the reality of the book is more complex. The story can be extremely dark. It contains brutality — man brutalizing dog, dog brutalizing dog, and nature brutalizing all. It contains amble death and killing. London did not soften any of the brutality and death, but presented it realistically. Though told from a dog’s point of view, The Call of the Wild contains an accurate picture of the harsh world that London observed when prospecting in the Klondike. He saw how cheap life could be there. People died easily in the cold North, and dogs even more so. This realistic picture of life in the Arctic was a huge part of the book’s original appeal with a public eager to hear tales of the still recent Klondike Gold Rush.

The book contains far more than mere adventure. London was enthralled with Darwinism, and The Call of the Wild mirrors his obsession. The lessons that Buck learns in survival — kill or be killed, the strongest and most cunning survive, mercy in the wild is a fatal weakness — all reflect London’s understanding of Darwin, and his ideas of how, absent of intervening civilization, survival of the fittest functions. Beyond this, London included several scenes where Buck experiences genetic memory — feeling and seeing visions of things experiences by ancient ancestors in their earliest encounters with man’s genetic ancestors. (This was an idea popular in the science of London’s time, though largely out of favor now.) This book has a definite and obvious point of view that is not necessarily aimed at children.

Finally, the writing in The Call of the Wild is noteworthy. London was an early American practitioner of Naturalism — a rejection of Romanticism in favor of scientific objectivism, and a determinism where character’s fates are predetermined by the impersonal forces of nature. That he blended this then novel form while using a dog (rendered naturalistically without any anthropomorphism) as his point of view character is what still gives this novel its unique and enduring appeal, making it an essential book in the classic American canon.

From belonging to Judge Miller in the Santa Clara Valley to his life on the frozen landscapes of Alaska, Buck, part St Bernard, part Shepherd went through a myriad of owners and situations as he learned the cunning of his species and the wiles he needed to be the best. He learned hate, but he also learned a deep love, and found an indomitable spirit which kept him alive when things were at their worst.

The Call of the Wild is a brilliant book, and definitely worth reading. I was caught up in the story from the very beginning, with the perspective being Buck’s, but it wasn’t told as if he was talking. It is written beautifully, and is a book I would recommend highly.

"Chemarea străbunilor" este unul dintre romanele la care, citindu-l, adolescent precoce fiind, am plâns. Pe lângă faptul că are un puternic impact asupra imaginaţiei, purtându-l pe cititor pe tărâmuri ascunse chiar şi literaturii, are o idee filosofică ezoterică: Buck, "personajul" principal al cărţii, reprezintă tipologia umană, care simte chemarea către rădăcinile sale, către originile sale... Aşa şi omul: este condamnat mereu să se întoarcă la originile sale, însă înainte de a se întoarce la origini, ESTE CONDAMNAT SĂ-ŞI CAUTE ORIGINEA!