Lately, I have been feeling lonely, and since I have moved off campus and into a pet-friendly apartment complex, I have been toying with the idea of a dog. Or a turtle. Either are very expensive and I know that while the company they would bring me would be a welcome comfort, I understand how incapable I am of being able to care for them properly. This might be the reason I was drawn to the banned book of dog and wolf during banned books week.
Jack London's Call of the Wild and White Fang was interesting. This specific compiling of the two stories from different periods in his career is obviously how they were meant to be presented (even if that may not be how Jack London intended). The first takes us from the world we know and beats us into submission both through explicit violence and the harshness of environment until we give in to the wild in order to escape the contortions of our own making. The second is similarly harsh and unyielding except that in the end, we come home to the comforts and trappings of the familiar.
I had never read these books growing up, my required reading list never mentioned them as far as I'm concerned and it always seemed to me to be a 'boy' book: meant to inspire the minds of the harder sex. But I loved them. I wish I had read them sooner. I used to love watching Homeward Bound when I was a kid, and I don't know why I never picked up a book in the same genre. If you are wary of reading a book like this, I will be honest, it is hard.
I wanted to cry and throw the book within the first few pages, but pushing past those feelings, for the sake of knowing the poor creatures make it all the way through the story is rewarding. I highly recommend it. If you have read this book, please let me know what you think. I would love to hear your opinions and favorite parts.
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