Synopsis "The Turtles of Tasman"

This is one of Jack London's lesser known short story collections. In the opening story, "By the Turtles of Tasman", Frederic Travers, a responsible man of high standing, gets a visit from his dying brother Tom, a globetrotting vagabond. It's a study in contrast between the two men, who each embody opposing aspects of London's character: the successful workaholic vs. the wandering adventurer. The writing is very mature and insightful, indicative of some of the more accomplished work of London's later career. Another noteworthy story is "Told in the Drooling Ward", a first-person narrative as told by a feeble-minded inmate of a mental institution. London does an admirable job with the narrator's voice and treats the character with sensitivity and respect. A story I had never heard of that really blew me away was "Finis". A starving man, stranded along the Yukon River in winter, waits to prey upon an unsuspecting traveler in order to save himself. It is as bleak and visceral as London's famous story "To Build a Fire". Suspenseful and skillfully told, it's an excellent story that deserves to be better known. The other five stories in the collection are "The Eternity of Forms", "The Prodigal Father", "The Hobo and the Fairy", "The First Poet", and "The End of the Story".

Jack London

(Author)

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Jack London (1876-1916), pseudonym of John Griffith Chaney, is one of the great American writers of the early 20th century. His world is inspired by a very subjective interpretation of Nietzsche's philosophy and is built on the principle of survival of the fittest. Born in San Francisco, he was essentially a self-taught child who avidly read the collections of the public library. At seventeen, he embarked on his first schooner, heading to Japan. After several experiences as a sailor and vagabond -which also led to his imprisonment-, London attended Oakland High School and later, the University of California, which he had to leave due to financial problems. Like many, he suffered from gold fever until he finally turned to writing.

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