I’m finishing up one of the best books I’ve read in my life right now, so before I review that one I thought I should put down some words regarding the previous book I read.

‘Call of the Wild’ by Jack London is an American classic written in 1903.  I knew it was about a dog and the wilderness.  What I didn’t know is that it’s told by the perspective of a dog, Buck, who grew up living an easy life on a California ranch, but was eventually stolen and forced to go to Alaska to be a sled dog.

That concept is the best thing about the book.  I really wasn’t blown away at all by the rest.

I guess Buck goes through a pretty good character arc, from cool Cali dog all the way to Yukon attack wolf.  He goes through a few owners, some kind, some not.  And he meets a lot of other dogs as partners/friends/enemies along the way as well.

I think I should have read this book as a teenager.  Maybe it would have resonated a lot stronger with me.

I guess I liked the last ten pages or so.  But as an American classic I think ‘Call of the Wild’ has to be put in the context of a book written in the early part of the 20th century.  I’m not sure it holds up today so well.

My rating: 4 out of 10.