Search - The Call of the Wild (Aladdin Classics)

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.

Okay, this story is about a dog, but, wow, what a great message it contains about the spirit of survival.