The Sea Wolf [NOOK Book]

This story begins with the protagonist Humphrey Van Weyden on a

This story begins with the protagonist Humphrey Van Weyden on a ferry steamer called the Martinez. Humphrey is a literature critic who depends on his father for income, and is weak and frail. The Martinez eventually ends up in a collision with another ship. Humphrey is then rescued by seal-schooner called the Ghost ruled by the brutish yet intelligent Wolf Larsen and his cruel men. From here he must use his wits, gain strength, and courage to survive in his harsh new environment filled with madness.

I could practically read the philosophy of Naturalism in every line of the story. The characters acts, thoughts, and personality only added more emphasis to this philosophy. For example some characters can have a caring nature, while others can have a more empathetic one. Humphrey also constantly describes the horrible conditions of his new environment and how he learns from it, which gives another great example to this theme. With this piece of classic American Literature, London also heavily highlights the need of self-reliance. He does this with his character Humphrey. Stuck on a boat with no one to support him, there would be no one else to trust but himself. London shows through Humphrey ways that self-reliance is an advantage that individuals can use as a benefit, then as a burden.

I loved the way Jack London describes every event in perfect detail. His word choice and imagery could practically play a little movie or paint a vivid picture in my head. The pace of the book was very interesting too. It sped up right from the beginning and maintained its pace until the story was finished. Many of the characters could be likable depending on the person. I personally favored Humphrey because his ideals are similar to mines. Though Wolf Larsen is the antagonist of this story I could not hate him because of the pain of loneliness he feels. Many of the other characters I felt were average and were only used to make the story dramatic, which they succeed in doing. The main thing that disturbed me in this book though, was the precise detail of blood, gore, and crimes committed on the ship. Other than that little topic, I found this book very exciting, and adventurous.

This book was very enjoyable to read, and was hard to put down. This characteristic can be shared in London’s many genius pieces of literature such as, Call of the Wild (one of my personal favorites), White Fang, and A Daughter of the Snows. If anyone is thirsting for a good sea adventure, then the Sea Wolf is the perfect choice.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Really good book.

Good book. Interesting.

Good book

I realy love all of Jack Londons books, and this one is good too, but it is hard because my favorite character is the Wolf. Hummphery Van weidein was not good enough of a guy for the whole setting.

it is okay. worth reading once. i was disappointed because i lo

it is okay. worth reading once. i was disappointed because i love most of his work. he is such a grest writer. but i was little let down by this one. great character in Wolf Larson. but no great character to match him. the hero's i ended up booing. no great chemistry was there between the hero and heroine. they were very naieve i felt and you would think after all Wolf put them through they would be a little more hardened or wiser for it but no just a couple of crazy intellectual kids in love in the middle of the north pacific. they were really good even great moments in the book - but they were very few and far between. recommend? yes. more than once? no.

Umm

No matter wut book i go to there is always something to do with warrior cats it gets annoying too

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Awesome Storyline!

I have read the book several times through the years. This format being free had numerous typos- but I dealt with it. Still a great story!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great writing, but ebook format slightly flawed

Like many readers, I was introduced to Highsmith's Ripley character via the 1999 movie (Damon as Ripley, Jude Law as Dickie Greenleaf, Gwyneth Paltrow as Marge Sherwood). As often the case, the movie takes some liberties, so the book is definitely worth reading as an "alternate" version. In both versions, Ripley is an opportunist and more than a bit of a sociopath, someone who feels entitled to the good life he sees others enjoying, no matter what. The book version can seem homophobic by today's standards, but in this regard I think Highsmith's characterization is more about the deformation brought about by the "closet" than disapproval of non-heterosexuality per se. (Highsmith was apparently bisexual herself as well as a long time expat in Europe; might Ripley may be a bit of an alienated self-portrait?) The story is all the more remarkable for still engaging the reader on Ripley's behalf - it's remarkable how one wants the story to go on, for Ripley to get away with it all, even knowing that he's quite capable of more.

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My quibble with the ebook version -- at least the one available via Nook -- is that the publishing process appears to have been flummoxed by diacritical marks, most annoyingly the e-accent-acute in "cafe", which is rendered "cafA(with a tilde!)(c)(the copyright symbol)". Since Tom likes to spend time at cafes congratulating himself on living the good life in Europe, this pops up frequently in the book. Given that the mistake has a diacritical mark of its own, I wonder if this is an easy one to fix by substituting one ASCII character set for another or some such maneuver. Other errors are harder to understand, e.g. "He wrote finally: Fm giving up the idea of an apartment" or "unless something concrete comes tout of it" or "bent close to them, apparently studying their tides" (should be "titles"). These seem to point to slight carelessness in an otherwise largely successful OCR process. All in all, Cresset Press and/or Barnes&Noble should take just a bit more care in proofing these publications before selling them; just a skim of the book or asking oneself "I wonder what it did with 'cafe'?" would have revealed some of these errors. I hope that a corrected version will be provided soon, and that versions purchased earlier will be updated free of charge.

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One other thing: the synopsis in the Overview here is *way* too detailed; talk about spoilers.

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OK, now my review has been moved to an entirely different book, "The Sea Wolf" by Jack London. I was advised re a different problem to reinstall nook for PC; either that or my complaint resulted in an unwanted substitution of the London book for the Highsmith one on one of the PCs I use. This is turning into a clown show.

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Good Book

Dealt with typos since book was free.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

An excellent adventure book

If you like a good adventure The Sea Wolf is an excellent choice. The main character goes from being a soft intellectual type to a hardened sailor when he is picked up by Wolf Larsen a seal hunting ship captain. He is made to work by force on Wolf Larsen's ship exposing him to conditions that he had never encountered before. The book is set at around 1905 when it was written and gives you a look at how much things have changed in a hundred years.
The book is also a philosophical masterpiece preaching the imposibility of neitzche's super human individualism.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

good read

i found this book fun and fast past at some parts, but he slowed the pace when it was need.if you what read a good funny book the sea wolf is a good pick

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Ok, But Not Great

I picked this book up while trying to find a great sea-faring adventure. Overall I found it an above average read, but I wouldn't list it as one of the greatest novels of all time. The novel is mainly about Captain Wolf and the man he takes as prisoner "Hump (nicknamed by the rest of the crew)." The novel is more of a look at the psyche of Captain Wolf vs "Hump," who have completely different views of life, religion, society and everything else ever discussed in books. The novel is exceptionally rugged in the writing. Some chapters will be read without realization to how much you have read, while others are only five to six pages and you have to force yourself to keep reading.

The book for me seemed to parrallel philosophy rather than adventure, which isn't particularly bad, but it wasn't what I was expecting.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

COMENTAR

i think that jack london's writing sea-wolf, is the best writing under title ,,Heroism' when i read it, i became hero, in my soul. sea wolf is the greatest sea story it is current of nicsheanism, that's i like in it. JACK LONDON FOREVER

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

London is a genius

I have read this book when I was 10 years old. Unfortunately I can't express my feelings properly. My comprehension is much more better than my spoken language or writing speech. I am not english native speaker. For lack of words my review is short. I admire Jack London. I admire his courage, his life, his great talent. And I think that this book is one of the really outstanding novels. Lenni. Russia.

Awesome book.....read it

I enjoyed this book because it was written by Jack London, the best author ever. This book's plot was differnet by have some unrealistic things that happen. In the Jack London books i have read they are usuyally realistic that is why I liked this one.

Read it... maybe

This book has an interesting story with some unexpected (if not unrealistic) twists. At times this book can ramble on but there are some great scenes to wait for.I liked the ending except for a few details, which I wont discuss so as the ending isnt spoiled. In closing, this is a good book but not a great one.

Truly a great book, that speaks for itself.

¿The Sea Wolf¿ by Jack London. This book is an extraordinary tale of Humphrey Van Weyden, how the ferry he is one at the very beginning of the book sinks and he is picked up by the sealing-schooner called the Ghost. So he is forced to work on the ship under the command of captain Wolf Larsen along with his crew. I found this book to be very interesting and intellectual. The book was written before I was born and I believe is more sophisticated and proper than a lot of books written today. The grammar is very rich and descriptive. ¿I do not forget one night, when I should have been asleep, of lying on the forecastle-head and gazing down at the spectral ripple of foam thrust aside by the Ghost's forefoot. It sounded like the gurgling of a brook over mossy stones in some quiet dell, and the crooning song of it lured me away and out of myself till I was no longer Hump the cabin-boy, nor Van Weyden, the man who had dreamed away thirty-five years among books. But a voice behind me, the unmistakable voice of Wolf Larsen, strong with the invincible certitude of the man and mellow with appreciation of the words he was quoting, aroused me.¿ Chapter 7. This quote from Chapter seven in the book is one of the many examples of just how descriptive and vivid this book truly is. I also find that most of the conversations between Wolf Larsen and Humphrey Van Weyden are those of importance. As Humphrey is a scholar, and Wolf Larsen has taught himself most of the things he knows. Wolf Larsen despite his rugged and brutish appearance reads Shakespeare, Poe, Darwin, Reed and Kellogg, and Metcalf. The minds of the two characters seem to contradict each other in the most obvious, and yet slight ways all at the same time. Wolf Larsen¿s theories and opinion¿s seem to strengthen or rival that of my own. One of my favorite conversations between Wolf Larsen and Humphrey is that of one they first speak of the immortal soul. ¿By the way, do you believe in the immortal soul?' His lids lifted lazily as he asked the question, and it seemed that the deeps were opening to me and that I was gazing into his soul. But it was an illusion. Far as it might have seemed, no man has ever seen very far into Wolf Larsen's soul, or seen it at all, - of this I am convinced. It was a very lonely soul, I was to learn, that never unmasked, though at rare moments it played at doing so. 'I read immortality in your eyes,' I answered, dropping the 'sir,' - an experiment, for I thought the intimacy of the conversation warranted it. He took no notice. 'By that, I take it, you see something that is alive, but that necessarily does not have to live for ever.' 'I read more than that,' I continued boldly. 'Then you read consciousness. You read the consciousness of life that it is alive; but still no further away, no endlessness of life.' How clearly he thought, and how well he expressed what he thought! From regarding me curiously, he turned his head and glanced out over the leaden sea to windward. A bleakness came into his eyes, and the lines of his mouth grew severe and harsh. He was evidently in a pessimistic mood. 'Then to what end?' he demanded abruptly, turning back to me. 'If I am immortal - why?' Humphrey seems thrown off by the surprising intelligence of Wolf Larsen and almost doesn¿t know how to counter him. The two minds clash in almost a fury trying to prove their own thoughts, while barely listening to the other but never backing down, never showing any sign of submission or weakness.

tis truly the good book

Author: Jack London Title: The Sea Wolf Genre: Classic adventures A young, rich, gentleman, Humphrey Van Whedon is on a ferry when out of the mist comes another ship that rams their ferry. He somehow miraculously survives and was found unconscious by the fishing schooner, The Ghost en route to Japan. The Ghosts owner, Wolf Larson, seems mysterious and the crew says he is even sadistic. Humphrey has to take to the ways of the sea and the ¿barbaric¿ sailors and is ridiculed become he is a ¿sissy¿. Yet his intelligent learn fast intrigues the captain and then things get interesting. The story is interesting and you really fell like Humphrey. The dialogue is deep at times when they Hump and Wolf talk philosophically. Also it gets confusing when the author tries to develop accents like the cook, Thomas Mugdrige, a.k.a. ¿Cooky¿ ond ish edz up shondn¿ yike dish. Also the multitude of Characters introduced at the same time and the similarities of the names tend to be confusing (i/e Johnson and Johenson). The plot doesn¿t really get interesting until the middle, before that it is introducing characters. Once it gets going it doesn¿t stop. A great book in the end. My best tip for reading this book is to pause each time a new character comes in and try and stick him in your mind. The ending is kind of predictable, but if you can¿t guess the eding, it is given away somewhere in this review. This book reminded me of the classic movie Mutiny on the Bounty because they both have a lot of in common such as a mean captain and voyage to the west. I also learned a lot about ships and their parts and I can now relate this book the any other tales of the sea.

this was an exellent book!

The Sea Wolf by jack london is one of my all time favorite books. It is an enthralling tale of a man on a seal fishing vessel, who wasn't supposed to be there.but when he runs away from the ship it becomes one of the most exiteing survival stories of all time. Not a survival kind of person? this book will still hold your interest indefinatly

Readers review of The Sea Wolf

Jack London¿s The Sea Wolf takes you on the fantastic journey of what it is like for the narrator to have his whole wonderful life. Then have it change so fast for what at first would not seem to be better, but in the end is probably the best thing that has ever happened to you. Living the perfect life, then meeting the one you love and spending the rest of your life with. The narrator¿s life takes a detour, but he eventually gets back on the road heading in the right direction and has a new love. Most of Jack London¿s stories take place in nature, as does this one. London uses his love for nature and great ideas to catch the readers¿ attention and keep them wondering how the book is going to end. The description is so good that you can make a descriptive picture in your mind. The time period in which the story takes place is the 1900¿s. The story shows you what it is like to have gone from riches and having your whole life planned out for you and then being hit with a big surprise of having to work on a seal hunting ship for a few months. It is filled with murder, mystery, and cruelty. It is a must read.