London, Jack (1903). Call of the Wild. Project Gutenberg Etext.
Buck, a dog living a comfortable, domesticated life, is abducted from his home and thrust into the harsh environment of the Yukon, where he unexpectedly thrives.
I don’t usually read dog books, because, frankly, the dogs don’t really have a good survival rate and there’s nothing that makes me tear up faster than man’s best friend biting the bullet (literally or otherwise). So (SPOILER) I was only willing to read this years after everyone else in the world has after I found out that Buck ends up ok. Mind you – he’s practically the only character that does.
London does an excellent job of characterizing Buck without anthropomorphizing (read: Disney-fying), and managed to maintain my interest and affection for the hairy protagonist throughout the length of the book, and through his evolution into a purely wild creature. The dog’s-eye view of the Yukon was interesting and surprisingly intense as well.
If you liked this book: Maybe you should watch the Due South episode by the same title to get more of that adventuring-in-the-Yukon feeling.
