Book Review – The Sea-Wolf by Jack London
Happy Monday!
Since it is the last Monday in May, it is also Memorial Day!
Be sure to honor the memories of the people who have died serving our country. It is also another special day in my world. It would have been my mom’s 78th birthday today. She would have been even happier that Memorial Day fell on her actual birthday this year. She always said the 30th is the original day the holiday was celebrated on. And she is right!
I have done a few book reviews of adapted books lately. They are ones with the stories condensed down for younger readers to be able to enjoy. It gives the reader the basic story without all of the subplots. I recently re-read Jack London’s Call of the Wild in an adapted version. So, I decided to read another Jack London book but the full version this time. There is a lot more story presented in a full version versus the adapted. I probably should have read the full version of the Call of the Wild this time to be able to make a fair comparison, but I haven’t read this book before. I will have to try and find an adapted copy of The Sea-Wolf and let you know how it compares.
Selma’s Book Review
Book Title
The Sea-Wolf
Author
Jack London
Type of Book
Young Adult fiction if reading the full version due to a longer book. Adapted version would probably be a good middle grade read.
Background
Published after Call of the Wild in 1904, this book continues London’s theme of people and animals facing hardships. Most all of his writing is drawn from his own life experience with this book being based on his experiences at sea.
Summary of Story
Story is set in the early 1900s. After surviving a collison at sea, Humphrey Van Weyden gets picked up by a sealing ship. He doesn’t have a lot of experience in the sea ways of life, being brought up in a weathly family and employed as a literary critic. The captain, Wolf Larsen, is a pretty violent captain, but he teaches Humprey not only how to crew and pilot the boat, but also builds him up to be a stronger man, physically and emotionally.
Reactions to book
By reading the full version, I was able to get the entire story, but it got a little wordy for me in places. But, I realized this is how writing of that time period tended to be. I did enjoy it and plan on reading an adapted version of the story in the near future. I’ll be interested to see what parts of the story they choose to tell in a condensed format.
The version of The Sea-Wolf that I read also included a few of London’s short stories. I read one called “The Law of Life” and I could see how deep London felt about life in the Yukon. This story talks about the life and death of one of the elder’s of a tribe. About how life takes it’s course and death is a natural part of it. Goes to show how life experience can add some depth to an author’s work.
If you are interested in picking up a copy, you can find it here The Sea-Wolf
To learn more about the author, be sure to check out his website Jack London.