White Fang
Ratings186
Average rating3.8
Absolutely captivating story of survival.
From the opening pages through to the end, White Fang was hard to put down. We're introduced to the harsh wilderness of the North. A world completely unforgiving where you either kill or be killed.
The novel is as harsh and brutal as the winter weather. From animal abuse, to dog fighting. This book can be hard for animal lovers. I myself had a difficult time with the abuse, however it offered a truly captivating glimpse into what a dog in that era may have experienced.
Despite the hardness, this is one I'd gladly read again. I simply couldn't put it down.
I fell in love with this story when I first read it when I was about 12 years old and read it over and over. Now, over 16 years later, I decided to pick it up again. While I am far more critical of some of the content these days, I still enjoyed the story very much. It was a very nostalgic re-read for me.
Not only is this depressing, but it's surprisingly/appallingly racist as well. The only saving grace it has is how good the end was.
White Fang is the story of a wolf from the northland as he endures terrible master after terrible master until he finally finds a master who treats him with love and kindness. It's a story about a wolf, but it is also the story of how caring or lack of caring shapes others. It's a story of a wolf, but it's also the story of how it can never be too late for caring to change things. I read this book, rapt to the last page.
Entertaining, and gripping. Those two words describe this book for me. It isn't complex, in any way - but neither is any of the content dumbed down. I was surprised to learn that this book was published more than a hundred years ago - the writing felt surprisingly modern, well, except for some rare (glaring) oddities.
By the way, Goodreads' blurb for this book is misleading. It traces the entire life of our hero White Fang, and the nice prospector enters the story only towards the end.
Oh, and it has a perfectly happy ending. So yay for that!