Martin Eden [NOOK Book]

A reviewer

Having read the book myself, I disagree with those who regard it an inspiring tale of personal triumph. To be sure, the book dramatizes the gut-wrenching, heart-wringing struggle of the protagonist, Martin Eden, to reinvent himself, through self-study, into a versatile writer of repute with a view to making himself worthy not only of his fiancée, Ruth Morse, but also of the bourgeois society to which she belongs and in which he seeks to gain membership despite his humble origins. But the book, as anyone who has read it conscientiously knows, ends on a tragic note: Martin Eden¿s suicide at the height of his success can¿t simply be discounted. Shouldn¿t this ending then provoke one into asking whether or not the book is truly the inspirational narrative that it is popularly regarded to be? I believe it should. In my view, the book is a cautionary tale of transcendence gone awry. How so? Martin Eden¿s tenacity of purpose is predicated on his a priori conviction that his fiancée and the bourgeoisie can value his intrinsic worth as an individual of potential. But alas! Much to his profound disillusionment, he discovers later on that his fiancée and the bourgeoisie have no appreciation at all 'and can never have any' for what he is and what he¿s willing himself to be. Only when Fame and Fortune have already smiled on him are they prepared to regard him well ¿ and only superficially so at that. In other words, Martin Eden realizes he is wrong in believing they can value him on his own terms, not on theirs only his extrinsic worth as an individual of attainment matters to them, and like it or not, that¿s all he can ever expect of them. That the force of realization is strong enough to dissipate his passion for living is hardly surprising. He has inadvertently foredoomed himself by obsessively seeking genuine affirmation from the people of the `wrong¿ sort. It can¿t be otherwise especially in view of his rigid sense of self-consistency, which prevents him from accepting the way things are and amending himself accordingly. Whether or not his suicide then is an act of lunacy, cowardice, or plain weakness, one thing is certain: it is arguably an act of repudiation like Kate Chopin¿s tragic heroine Edna Pontellier¿s in the Awakening. Their suicides, which coincidentally involved entombing themselves in watery graves, could be said to constitute the ultimate statement of defiance against their societies that have given them much sorrow.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A exellent book for exelerated readers.

Martin Eden is the best book I've read so far! The first sentence will get you intrested right away. Set in San Fransico, it's a love story and a adventure combined. Martin, a not so well educated sailor falls in love with a upper class woman he meets one day while eating dinner. He wants to be come smarter so he starts reading books. But his money runs out from his previous job so he has to go to sea. When he goes to sea he jumps overbored and he kills himself by swimming downuntill he cant get back to the surface with his breath. A good story with alot of big word though.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Excellent book, poor printing.

This book is not put together well. Pages 221-222 do not appear between 220 and 223, but at the end of the book. Page 482 ends in mid-sentence. Pages 483-486 are missing. Jack London is a genius, and he deserves better than this.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Best book

This is my favorite book ever! Its very different but very good.

Flaws Refered Where Corrected in 2002

Yes, the bad printing was corrected in 2002 on the edition published by Synergy International of The Americas - on the bright red cover as are all books published by us (Jack Liondon)and also on B. Traven books. 5 Stars from this publisher

Suprisingly good

London succeeds quite well in this effort . Martin Eden is part love story, part psychological study, part social manifesto, and part autobiography. London is able to blend these elements into a cohesive whole that is both fascinating and thought provoking. It is a wonderful story that will certainly make an impression

Shame of the Sun

Martin Eden is indeed the most mature of London's works as Mr. Sinclair said. I don't know what version the other reviewer was reading, but the Modern Library Classics edition doesn't have any of these flaws and comes with a notes section. A very compelling read and another great look into how depressed the human mind can become. Another work of genius by London.

We writers...

I understood what is the book about and I really identify myself with this book. You can see it everywhere - the film Guru - he was talking about great things, but people werent listening to him, they were just squawking, because other people were squawking and because it was 'in'. The same is Martin Eden and it shows how poor is this world - genius is rated by average people.

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