Jack London's The Call of the Wild is much more than what could be considered a children's book. It is a unique and harsh depiction of the bitter realities of life in the Yukon during the days of the gold rush. Told from the perspective of the half-wolf Buck, The Call of the Wild allows readers to intimately experience the trials of life in the wild.
The relativity short novel, around ninety pages, begins with the kidnapping of Buck from a well-to-do family in Southern California and his subsequent arrival in Oregon and final move into Alaska as he is sold and re-sold. Buck initially misses his old life, but as he quickly learns the laws that make up his new world he becomes a fast learner and revels in the daily warfare and struggle for survival. He soon becomes on of the most legendary sled dogs in the region, drawing admiring and jealous looks from anyone who doesn't own him. While Buck is faithful to his final owner, John Thornton, to the very last, he cannot resist the call to join his wolf brothers in the wild.
London's unique premise of telling the story from Buck's point of view offers a remarkably different reading experience from other books that offer a similar perspective- perhaps since this is not just a children's book. There are harsh and bitter realities presented in The Call of the Wild that make it much more of an adult book. London's writing is journalistic at times, simple and straight-forward, mixed with a surprisingly lyrical bent at other times. It is an interesting combination that works well for the story that is being told.
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