I had experienced this author first in his more famous book White Fang, I was outright impressed by the writing and story both. I still remember that story of the amazing wolfdog! I wanted to have more of the author but unfortunately, since then time has not been very favorable to read longer work. Last month I decided to turn to smaller fictional work of some authors especially for my French and Spanish creels (I have hung two such separate brown swaying creels on a peg in my room for my anticipating shorter reads) so that there should not remain a sense of repentance in me that I am not touching new authors and new regimes.

So remembering my forgotten promise made to myself to read more of Jack London, I picked up this single story. I was well pleased with the decision. It made a mark and recalled my lost memories of The White Fang.

This story begins with two men staggering through the icy cold milky water, heavily burdened with a blanket pack strapped to their shoulders and head straps pressed across the forehead, a rifle too with them. the water squirting out under their feet with every step as they are making their way from muskeg to muskeg. One man, who is walking behind seems faint and reels then almost falling and losing his strength to move on. He calls out to the man making his way ahead of him,

I say, Bill! I have sprained my ankle.

The man named Bill does not look around. The other man makes a pleading cry of a strong man in life-threatening distress.

Bill!

Bill doesn't look back and moving ahead passes over the crest and disappears. cowering in the midst
of such overwhelming force of milky water crushing and pressing upon him, this man gathers strength and tries to reach to bank with an optimistic mindset that he will find Bill there and that Bill has not deserted him.

This story is of some icy cold swamps of North America. The stream in which he was stood was the feeder of Coppermine river, to the south of which was the Great Bear Lake.

I could easily understand here that it's going to be another tale of the favorite themes of the author that is SURVIVAL in most adverse natural conditions. And indeed it turned out to be one. These guys
were in search of wealth, putting their lives in danger.

Jack London's mastery in depicting such a story of survival and fight against hunger and cold weather condition is commendable. His writing is ingenious and quite fanciful. I d this story and his writing in shorter form is as alluring as I first found in his novel. His short stories were received with critical acclaim, I think he deserved it.31 s Exina1,233 402

Some of the short stories from this collection were required for American literature seminar. None of them left such a deep impression as To Build a Fire.

3 stars.classics required-readings short-stories-novellas19 s Uirebit UirebitAuthor 7 books53

Nu cred ca exista vreun scriitor care sa poata egala opera lui London (sau poate ca am citit eu prea putin la viata mea).
Realismul si autenticitatea stilului sau te fac sa te indragostesti imediat de sufletul lui London si sa vrei sa citesti mai mult... si mai mult.
I-as da 6 stele, daca as putea :)12 s Aydan Aliyeva86 101

P?h!! Q?l?min dilin?, t?svirin gücün? bax!!10 s Chris170 144

Jack London is one of my favorite authors. He dive-bombs straight into an exploration of the endurance of the human spirit, and makes it walk to the very brink of insanity and death before pulling it back to see what burned off in the struggle. He subjects his stories' heroes to the most tortuous of scenarios and the most savage of antagonists that strips the skin, muscles, and bones from the protagonist's character until the last bit of grit is revealed that signifies the truest bit of life that lies buried in each of us beneath all the fatty comforts, convenience, and beyond the reach of all self-deception. London is notorious for holding his characters squirming under the microscope of his story, and suddenly reveals that it is our own doppelganger that is writhing in agony of exposure beneath our very eyes! London seizes us by the throat and peels away our trappings layer by layer until he is able to divide between the animal and the divine in us. It is discomfiting, but enlightening, and strangely rejuvenating as one begins to reclothe the spirit a bit more honestly and intentionally when the story is finished. Just keep your fingers away from London's teeth--he will tear the skin if you brush too closely against his piercing deconstruction of the carnal facade of the soul that might be a bit more fragile than we think.

"Love Of Life" (1907) is a collection of stories about the endurance, survival, and even the death of the human spirit, and most occur in catastrophic incidents that keep the reader on the edge of his seat. Many of the stories take place in the Yukon province of Canada that borders Alaska, and as London had an unflagging interest in the Gold Rush of 1898, his plots center around the hardships that faced the natives of Alaska and western prospectors as a result of man's insatiable thirst for riches and adventure.

My favorite story in this anthology was "Brown Wolf". It is a simple tale about a dog that was half wolf, raised in the Yukon as a sled dog, but later domesticated on a quiet farm, living a peaceful existence, and waited on by gentle people. The author teases out the desires of the dog that is torn between a thirst for danger (wolf), and alternately a thirst for safety (dog). It is the tension between home and adventure, between comfort and risk, and the end of the story reveals London's own belief in the ultimate leanings of mankind as represented in the struggle between plant and animal in Brown Wolf.

London won't let you read quietly. He rips a hole right through your chest so you can see what makes your guts quiver. And he s it. And I it... 'cause when I zip back up, I know a little more who I am. Which is much more than we sometimes think.10 s1 comment Kusaimamekirai693 263

I love these stories, most of them set in Alaska, of men, women and animals fighting for survival over the elements as well as the people around them. These are thoroughly enjoyable adventure stories but with a keen insight into human greed, love, insecurity, and our connection to the natural world.
My only criticism would be when London portrays “ethnic” characters such as Native Americans, Dutch, or Irishmen. Rather than have them speak his White characters, they speak and at times cringe worthy accented English which, while London was hardly the only one doing in the early 20th century, remains awkward and uncomfortable to read in 2018.
That aside, these are wonderful stories and a pleasure to read. fiction-america6 s1 comment Vanya Hrynkiv129 4

4.5 ????? ???????, ?????? ? ?????? 6 s Debbie Zapata1,875 79

In 2016 I read a book called Wolf Totem. Jack London's story Love Of Life was mentioned there, and at the time I put the title on my Told You So list, where I keep track of interesting books mentioned in other books. I was curious about why young people in the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia would have been reading that particular story.

This year one of my reading goals is to make a few dents in some of my personal lists, so here we are. I had found Love Of Life at Project Gutenberg as part of a collection of eight London stories. Of course I had to read them all....I mean, it's Jack London!

So why had those young people in wolf Totem read the story Love Of Life? It tells what happened to a man (we never learn his name) when he sprains his ankle on a trek to get out of the north country before the winter. His partner Bill never looks back, never answers the man's calls, he just keeps on walking. And we face a cold, hungry hell with the man while he tries to save himself. Then the wolf shows up, and what happens between him and the man made me understand the power this story had for the readers in Wolf Totem.

Some stories are written from a Native American viewpoint, others show the White Man's approach. All the stories are amazing and well worth the time. Negore, The Coward is particularly moving; The Unexpected features a woman who is stronger than the men around her when she needs to be; The Story Of Keesh reveals life-giving ingenuity on the part of a young orphan boy; and The Sun-Dog Trail will leave a reader wondering along with the narrator, who never did learn the 'Why?' of his experience with two young people who nearly killed all three in their search for....what?

Each story here is set in Alaska (Brown Wolf is the one exception, it takes place in California, but Alaska is the gorilla in the room there) and all are intense views of life in the gold rush days and earlier. No one writes this type of story the way London did. Have blankets ready, you will feel the seventy-below-zero cold. Have munchies handy, you will think you are dying of hunger. Get up and walk around every few minutes while you read, because you will be convinced that if you don't keep moving, you will freeze.gutenberg6 s Irina Constantin150 101

Prima cartea cu adev?rat fascinant? pe care am citit-o iarna asta! Jack London- Dragostea de via?? ?i alte povestiri, un scriitor clasic memorabil care niciodat? nu m-a dezm?git, Jack London! Aparenta simplitate a povestirii ascunde suplicii de nedescris, oare agonia spiritului porne?te numai iarna atât de subit?... eu am sim?it-o în toat? întregimea ei citindu-l pe London...7 s Federico DN747 2,089

Quite Good.

This was quite good, but not going to review it.

For the moment at least.

It’s public domain. You can find it HERE.

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PERSONAL NOTE :
[1900] [20p] [Classics] [3.5] [Conditional Recommendable]
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Bastante Bien.

Esto estuvo bastante bien, pero no voy a reseñarlo.

Al menos por ahora.

Es dominio público, lo pueden encontrar ACA.

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NOTA PERSONAL :
[1900] [20p] [Clásicos] [3.5] [Recomendable Condicional]
-----------------------------------------------almost-fav classics fiction ...more4 s Daniel Li?inschi23 7

"Love of Life" is a story written by Jack London in 1907. It presents the journey of 2 travelers through the Canadian forests. From betrayal to death, Jack shows us in a short way that the boundary between animals and humans isn't as thick as we thought.
Definitely give it a try! 4 s Anne20

Listened on Spotify to this while knitting. The click of the humdrum needles contrasted with the gripping details and the intense scenes. Excellent story telling....4 s Bob645 40

5 Stars

This is my second reading of these short stories, all are worthwhile reading. As with all collections some are better than others, but in this case the difference is small. London was perhaps the best writer of his time and a master of the short story. He is one of my personal favorites, I hope to read all his works before I go toes up, time will tell.

This is a no guilt recommendation. Take a chance read at least one of these stories and let me know if I’m right. My top picks are Love of Life, The Unexpected, and Negore, The Coward.
20th-century-classics 5-stars ebooks ...more3 s murmur204 27


This is a story of survival at its most pure. It is an exploration of a man's will to survive. London tells the story in great detail, recounting moments of fear, anguish and raw hunger endured by his protagonists.4 s Anna410 102

Remembered reading and loving it in school. Now I want more Jack London in my life, especially after all this years.:)own short-fiction3 s Violet Jabayeva17 18

Bel? bir hekay? yazan yaz?ç?n?n intihar etm?si.3 s Bab?k OSMANLI44

"?g?r siz do?rudan da onu sevirsinizs?, onda onun xo?b?xtliyi sizin d? xo?b?xtliyinizdir...
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