"He was sounding the deeps of his nature, and the parts of his nature that were deeper than he, going back into the womb of Time." - Jack London in The Call of the Wild
Back in the 90's, before Harry Potter and Wimpy Kid, before graphic novels and before Marvel and DC Comics became all the rage in india, many book stores used to sell illustrated pocket classics. As the name says, they were pocket sized, abridged versions of the classics, printed on cheap paper, usually in medium or large fonts, with text on one page and illustrations on the other. You hardly find them now, lamentably, because they were a good way for young readers to graduate into reading longer tomes and novels. The language was good, in most parts, and the illustrations in black and white, while not being rich in detail, were still interesting and engrossing.
We were a generation who grew up without the internet, or Google, or Wikipedia. Today, if kids ask us anything, we can pull it up with a swipe of the finger, or not even that, just a voice command will work. What does a pirate look like? What is a harpoon? What is a longbow? What is a friar? There are also more books around with better, colorful illustrations. And if the kids have not already seen the classics on screen before they have learnt to put together a word by themselves, good books might just be handy. By the time kids born in the later half of the 2010's grow into their teens, Disney will have probably already given them a rich menu of classics to grow up on; both in animated, and live action versions, thank you very much! In our times, the pocket classics gave us an option to understand the visuals of some of the things we read, especially helpful since most of those classics were about lands and times about which we had very little knowledge.
One such book that I landed upon as a ten-year old (or a year or two younger) was 'The Call of the Wild' by Jack London. I read it once or twice in those couple of years and it remained one of my favourite books growing up. Only the last year, when I came across an unabridged version did I read it again after more than twenty-five years, and was pleasantly surprised to find that most of the book was still familiar, having formed deep impressions in my memories.
The book is about a hundred and forty pound dog named Buck, half St. Bernard and half Scotch Collie. He lives in indolent, indulgent comfort in a California estate enjoying life as a pet. He is kidnapped then and traded off to end up in the Yukon Valley in northwestern Canada during the Klondike Gold Rush of the 1890's. Ambitious prospectors had a rushed North, mainly from Seattle and San Francisco when gold was discovered in the Yukon in 1896, out to make a fortune.
Buck goes through a series of owners, some good and gentle and some not quite so, who illtreat the dogs. He is also part of a team of sled dogs and a large part of the story is the politics of the pack and the competition as well as the team work among the dogs. The story is also a bildungsroman of sorts, taking the reader through Buck's transformation from an indulged pet to a somewhat feral, beast, wild in his ways and smart to the survival instincts of the animal. The book is heart warming in its portrayal of the sled dogs in the cruel, freezing environment of the north. Told from Buck's own canine point of view, London makes you feel like a dog yourself, ready to give yourself a shake from the water or stick your tongue out to lap at the falling snowflakes.
I was profoundly influenced by one motif in the story, the concept of a genetic memory. As Buck progresses from a pet from a civilized society to a wild, half-beast he sees forgotten memories from the ancient past about his vulpine ancestors. This idea affected me deeply and I have often thought that we too have ancient long repressed memories, that are triggered sometimes; and when we hear the sound of the ocean, or the falling rain over the forest greens or the tribal chants of the past or the melodies of a naked reed wind, we are transported momentarily, back in time to an age when humans roamed about in packs, afraid and at the same time, enchanted by the powerful forces of nature, recording our memories in our stories, set to primitive tunes, difficult to forget. Years after I first read Call of the Wild, I started to write poetry and unconsciously that same concept crept into my words; the pattern of an ancient song, wisely whispering into our inner ears, on the right things to do, simple in its moral code, untouched by greed and hubris.
Jack London's adventure saga has been adapted to film several times and this February is being released in its latest version, a live action film starring Harrison Ford and directed by Chris Sanders, who has worked on some iconic Disney films such as Aladin, Lion King and Mulan as well as the How to Train Your Dragon series. My little one will, in all probability see Call of the Wild too, before she begins to read and maybe when she does she won't have to try to imagine the Yukon or try to find out how a St.Bernard/Scotch Collie looks like. But it will be a fun adventure and I can't wait to turn into a kid with her again and go through that marvelous adventure.
Urge you to read the book, if you can get your hands on it, it's unforgettable!
One such book that I landed upon as a ten-year old (or a year or two younger) was 'The Call of the Wild' by Jack London. I read it once or twice in those couple of years and it remained one of my favourite books growing up. Only the last year, when I came across an unabridged version did I read it again after more than twenty-five years, and was pleasantly surprised to find that most of the book was still familiar, having formed deep impressions in my memories.
The book is about a hundred and forty pound dog named Buck, half St. Bernard and half Scotch Collie. He lives in indolent, indulgent comfort in a California estate enjoying life as a pet. He is kidnapped then and traded off to end up in the Yukon Valley in northwestern Canada during the Klondike Gold Rush of the 1890's. Ambitious prospectors had a rushed North, mainly from Seattle and San Francisco when gold was discovered in the Yukon in 1896, out to make a fortune.
Buck goes through a series of owners, some good and gentle and some not quite so, who illtreat the dogs. He is also part of a team of sled dogs and a large part of the story is the politics of the pack and the competition as well as the team work among the dogs. The story is also a bildungsroman of sorts, taking the reader through Buck's transformation from an indulged pet to a somewhat feral, beast, wild in his ways and smart to the survival instincts of the animal. The book is heart warming in its portrayal of the sled dogs in the cruel, freezing environment of the north. Told from Buck's own canine point of view, London makes you feel like a dog yourself, ready to give yourself a shake from the water or stick your tongue out to lap at the falling snowflakes.
I was profoundly influenced by one motif in the story, the concept of a genetic memory. As Buck progresses from a pet from a civilized society to a wild, half-beast he sees forgotten memories from the ancient past about his vulpine ancestors. This idea affected me deeply and I have often thought that we too have ancient long repressed memories, that are triggered sometimes; and when we hear the sound of the ocean, or the falling rain over the forest greens or the tribal chants of the past or the melodies of a naked reed wind, we are transported momentarily, back in time to an age when humans roamed about in packs, afraid and at the same time, enchanted by the powerful forces of nature, recording our memories in our stories, set to primitive tunes, difficult to forget. Years after I first read Call of the Wild, I started to write poetry and unconsciously that same concept crept into my words; the pattern of an ancient song, wisely whispering into our inner ears, on the right things to do, simple in its moral code, untouched by greed and hubris.
Jack London's adventure saga has been adapted to film several times and this February is being released in its latest version, a live action film starring Harrison Ford and directed by Chris Sanders, who has worked on some iconic Disney films such as Aladin, Lion King and Mulan as well as the How to Train Your Dragon series. My little one will, in all probability see Call of the Wild too, before she begins to read and maybe when she does she won't have to try to imagine the Yukon or try to find out how a St.Bernard/Scotch Collie looks like. But it will be a fun adventure and I can't wait to turn into a kid with her again and go through that marvelous adventure.
Urge you to read the book, if you can get your hands on it, it's unforgettable!
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