Sunday, October 15, 2017

White Fang, by Jack London


This book is about a rough dog named White Fang, who’s actually three-quarters wolf.  Born in the wilds of Canada’s Yukon Territory, White Fang survives by moving between Indian tribes, ferocious wolf packs and even a dog-fighting ring.  White Fang’s struggles finally come to an end when a gold prospector buys the dog and brings him onward to California.  There, a warm, sunny retirement awaits…or does it?

One of the things I like best about Mr. London’s writing is the fact that he doesn’t shy away from depicting the grisly realities of life on the frontier.  Tough men headed west expecting to live a tough live, and by all accounts they weren’t disappointed.  This book is written in a similar style, although I do have to say that the depictions of violence and cruelty aren’t too excessive.  If anything, this book is an accurate depiction of what frontier life must have been like, and it doesn’t hurt one bit that the main character is a heroic dog! 


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