Helpful Score: 4
Missed this book growing up. I recently added an iPod Touch application that had this book in the library, so I got the chance to see what I'd missed. My first big surprise was that the story is told from the perspective of Buck, the dog. I mean, I knew it was about the Yukon gold rush and sled dogs, but I had no idea that Buck was a dog. Nice surprise, really.
High school literary analysis works great for this book. No wonder it is in so many curriculums. I did feel rather bludgeoned by descriptive words meant to set the tone and drive home the point that civility is a light veneer over our primitive nature. Like these words from a passage: hatchet, club, red-eyed devil, bristling, foaming, mad, bloodshot, fury, passion, jaws, shock. Right. What's your point, Mr. London? It's a little fuzzy to me. Like Buck. Hehe.
Next up, Robinson Crusoe, which I'm discovering bludgeons me with literary foreshadowing.
High school literary analysis works great for this book. No wonder it is in so many curriculums. I did feel rather bludgeoned by descriptive words meant to set the tone and drive home the point that civility is a light veneer over our primitive nature. Like these words from a passage: hatchet, club, red-eyed devil, bristling, foaming, mad, bloodshot, fury, passion, jaws, shock. Right. What's your point, Mr. London? It's a little fuzzy to me. Like Buck. Hehe.
Next up, Robinson Crusoe, which I'm discovering bludgeons me with literary foreshadowing.
Helpful Score: 2
Okay, this story is about a dog, but, wow, what a great message it contains about the spirit of survival.