Zanna Bianca

Di Jack London

Scritto nel 1906, tre anni dopo “Il richiamo della foresta” e tre anni prima di “Martin Eden”, Zanna Bianca è una delle più belle storie mai scritte sul mondo animale e naturale, uno dei più celebri e letti romanzi di tutti i tempi. London è stato lo scrittore americano più venduto nel mondo. I suoi scritti sono stati tradotti in 68 lingue, i suoi romanzi sono ancora oggi i più venduti tra i classici. Il solo “Richiamo”, dal 1903 fino ad oggi, ha venduto più di 8 milioni di copie.

La legge era: ‘‘Divorare o essere divorati’’. Lui aveva divorato i sette pulcini di pernice. Il falco aveva divorato la pernice madre. Il falco avrebbe divorato anche lui stesso. Lui aveva desiderato di divorare il falco. Aveva divorato una piccola lince. La lince madre lo avrebbe divorato se non fosse stata uccisa e divorata essa stessa. Tutti gli esseri viventi vivevano secondo questa legge, e lui stesso era parte di questa legge. La vita era un appetito voracissimo e il mondo un luogo in cui si aggiravano delle moltitudini di appetiti, i quali inseguivano ed erano inseguiti, divoravano ed erano divorati: e, tutto questo, nella più assoluta, cieca confusione, con la violenza e il disordine, in un caos di ingordigia e di strage, governato solo dal caos, un caos senza pietà, senza un piano prestabilito e senza fine.

• Lingua: Italiano
• Editore: Gingko Edizioni
• Data di uscita: 24 giu 2013
• ISBN: 9781301714339

Jack London

Jack London (1876-1916) was an American novelist and journalist. Born in San Francisco to Florence Wellman, a spiritualist, and William Chaney, an astrologer, London was raised by his mother and her husband, John London, in Oakland. An intelligent boy, Jack went on to study at the University of California, Berkeley before leaving school to join the Klondike Gold Rush. His experiences in the Klondike—hard labor, life in a hostile environment, and bouts of scurvy—both shaped his sociopolitical outlook and served as powerful material for such works as “To Build a Fire” (1902), The Call of the Wild (1903), and White Fang (1906). When he returned to Oakland, London embarked on a career as a professional writer, finding success with novels and short fiction. In 1904, London worked as a war correspondent covering the Russo-Japanese War and was arrested several times by Japanese authorities. Upon returning to California, he joined the famous Bohemian Club, befriending such members as Ambrose Bierce and John Muir. London married Charmian Kittredge in 1905, the same year he purchased the thousand-acre Beauty Ranch in Sonoma County, California. London, who suffered from numerous illnesses throughout his life, died on his ranch at the age of 40. A lifelong advocate for socialism and animal rights, London is recognized as a pioneer of science fiction and an important figure in twentieth century American literature.

Recensioni su Zanna Bianca

[liscarey · Valutazione: 5 su 5 stelle]

I've lost track of how many times I read this as a kid. Wonderful book!

[shakirh.b3 · Valutazione: 4 su 5 stelle]

White Fang is a wolf dog who lies in Alaska. He was born in a cave with 4 other pups and he was the only one who survive. He was taken to an Indian Camp with his mom. He was given the name White Fang. He was very cunning and fierce. He was hated by all the other dogs in the camp. Soon his mom was taken from him and he was bullied and also scared. He learned how to protect himself from the other puppies and how to live with humans. He was sold to a man name Beauty Smith who treated him badly and put him to fight and kill other dogs for money. He was saved by Scott after he almost died when dog fighting. Scott took him to his home in California where he was love and became a part of Scott family and also had puppies of his own. I enjoyed reading this adventurous book which shows us about animal feelings and trust. It shows how some people can be cruel to animals and some can be kind as well. White Fang went from a fierce animal who met cruelty, being bullied and abused to enjoying life and having his own puppies. I think it was very horrible the way he was beaten and put into fights. No one deserve this type of treatment.

[animyrch · Valutazione: 4 su 5 stelle]

An emotive book depicting the imaginary life of a wolf. Through his feelings and opinions, Jack London presents us a comprehensive critic of inner and outer nature of humans by means of implicit comparisons between animals and humans.

[isaacpeterson.sbhs · Valutazione: 5 su 5 stelle]

Amazing book with a great story that kept me on my toes. Although you need to have kind of a long attention span it's a great story once you get into it.

[sturlington_1 · Valutazione: 2 su 5 stelle]

Enjoyed the first three chapters, even if they were a bit gruesome. Cast Liam Neeson and you'd have the makings of a fine movie there. Lost interest when the narration switched to the wolves' point of view. Also, the narrator's voice was grating and seemed to emphasize the wrong things. Unfinished.

[barryu21 · Valutazione: 5 su 5 stelle]

A true classic.

[maxybo_1 · Valutazione: 5 su 5 stelle]

Excellent!!!

[jimocracy · Valutazione: 4 su 5 stelle]

I don't want to get too critical of this book but it is ironic that the author reversed the very thing I liked best about The Call of the Wild: the ruthless ending. I suppose that this book ended with a ruthless event but not with a wildness of mind and life. I thought that parts one and two were simply brilliant. The beginning of the book was gripping and exciting and a great way to introduce the reader to White Fang.

All in all, I enjoy this book very much... I just thought it got too sappy and lovey-dovey in the end. Also, I did not really enjoy the deification of humans to the extent it was used. The first couple of references would have sufficed to make the point of the wolf's point of view.

[kikiunhinged · Valutazione: 3 su 5 stelle]

I liked it alright as a dog lover but was a little bored finding descriptions repetitious. Call of the Wild was much better in my opinion.

[saltvand-1 · Valutazione: 4 su 5 stelle]

I read this book in Danish when I was about 10, and it made a strong lasting impression. For that reason I'll give it at least 4 stars, although don't know how I would had rated it if I had read it as an adult.

[krista.rutherford · Valutazione: 3 su 5 stelle]

Classic story of a wold-dog hybrid named White Fang. It's kind of the reversal of Jack London's other work "The Call of the Wild" wherein the animal starts off in human society and goes feral. White Fang is born wild and ends up with a beloved master. The point appears to be that nature is savage and brutal ("Eat or be eaten!"), and that man can be even more savage and brutal, or let the power of love and gentleness overcome.

[maryreinert · Valutazione: 4 su 5 stelle]

Beautiful writing about the life of a dog/wolf in the Yukon. Life in the wild changes as White Fang is first "owned" by an Indian, later by a terrible man named Beauty Smith who makes him into a fighting dog, and last by a kind man who becomes very attached to the dog.

[zhyatt-1 · Valutazione: 4 su 5 stelle]

Pros: this is a lovely, lovely book. It follows the tale of an Alaskan wolf from birth to his meeting with a human who shows him compassion and love, forming a bond stronger than any he's formed in his life. Beautifully written, evenly paced, it's classic Jack London.Cons: I'm pretty sure this book was at least partly responsible for starting the whole "OMG I LUV WOLFZ!!!" trend among our young people in the last few years. Especially teenage girls. I'm talking about the kind who talk about how beautiful and majestic wolves are and how ugly and awful humans are and they would just love to live with the wolves forever. Urgh.Also, I guess you could interpret some mild racial stereotyping in that White Fang's first master is a native who becomes an alcoholic.For these two offenses, I deduct one star. But it's still a great little novel.

[meditationesmartini · Valutazione: 3 su 5 stelle]

I expected to like this more than Call of the Wild because it was supposed to be London's book where he got all nitty-gritty about writing from the wolf's perspective in a real as opposed to a kind of anthropomorphic epical way, and there was some good stuff in that vein early on, with the baby wolf figuring out how the world works, and I think the "nature faker" label is somewhat unreasonable to apply to him unless you were expecting actual nature writing and not tall tale shit. (But only somewhat, since the fact that White Fang's narrative arc is basically that he is wild and magnif and then bad humans make him ornery and vicious and then good humans bring him into the light of civ gives the ecocritic-type, let-the-animals-be-animals-irretrievably-Other criticisms levelled against London by Teddy Roosevelt (!) at least three legs to stand on.)No, the problem with this book has nothing to do with nature--it's London's atittudes toward humanity that are the problem. We see how nails-tough Grey Beaver and the other native people who first semi-domesticate White Fang are, but then when he wanders into the white man's town he sees--apocalyptic revelation!--that those "gods" (humans are gods) are as nothing before the pale gods, and you're like, why exactly, given that the white people in this are mostly a bunch of drunks and fuckups. London's racial ideology is accompanied by this thing where the scion of the judge's family in California comes in and stomps the vicious lumpen goldpanners who are forcing White Fang to dogfight ("You beasts!" he shrieks, fists flying, superman curl coming unstuck. "You beasts!"). And White Fang is redeemed by being brought into the manor of the patriarch, the Judge of the Law. London himself said this book was an expression of "worship of power" and evoked Nietzsche, but it's a pretty thin Nietzscheanism--more Leibnizian all-is-for-the-best-in-this or Calvinist elect: those who rule are the strongest by virtue of ruling, not vice versa. Like, this guy's a socialist???? But then you read further that London saw this book as a fable-retelling of his own stratospheric rise from working-class kid to millionaire author, and you're like, no, he may think he's a socialist but he's actually the worst kind of fuckhead.

[benuathanasia · Valutazione: 4 su 5 stelle]

So infinitely better than Call of the Wild. I really enjoyed this book. White Fang had so much more personality than Buck and White Fang's perspectives of the world, his myriad interactions with everything around him, and the wonderful characterizations of the people in White Fang's life really invited the reader to truly care for him.

[librarycin · Valutazione: 4 su 5 stelle]

White Fang is ¼ dog and ¾ wolf. He is born into the wild, but since his mother is ½ dog, she brings him back to live with people. Over the course of his lifetime, he has to learn to adapt to many different worlds. London does an amazing job of telling the story from the wolf/dog’s point of view. Although, I find it very, very difficult to get past some of the abuse that happens in the story, it is an amazing book about an amazing animal. The way the story is told depicts exactly how I think an animal’s mind would work.

[santhony_35 · Valutazione: 5 su 5 stelle]

For Christmas, I ordered an mp3 player (Library of Classics) that was pre-loaded with 100 works of classic literature in an audio format. Each work is in the public domain and is read by amateurs, so the quality of the presentation is hit or miss. White Fang is a novel written by Jack London, much on the same topic and of the same style as his classic novella Call of the Wild. In Call of the Wild, the story is told from the point of view of the kidnapped sled dog, Buck. Likewise, in White Fang, the protagonist and narrator is a wolf/dog hybrid named White Fang. Born in the wild to a wolf father and half wolf, half dog mother, White Fang soon becomes domesticated as a pup in a nearby Indian village. From there he passes through various stages of life in Canada, Alaska and finally California.London’s writing is fascinating and the imagery is first rate. White Fang’s progression from a wild animal, to domesticated sled dog, to fighting dog and finally to family pet (interestingly, exactly the opposite experience of the protagonist in Call of the Wild) is vastly entertaining and educational.

[crashmyparty · Valutazione: 5 su 5 stelle]

I read this book a few years ago, and have constantly gone back to it because I just enjoyed the story and London's style of writing that much. 

[ctpress_1 · Valutazione: 5 su 5 stelle]

The aim of life was meat. Life itself was meat. Life lived on life. There were the eaters and the eaten. The law was: EAT OR BE EATEN. He did not formulate the law in clear, set terms and moralize about it. He did not even think the law; he merely lived the law without thinking about it at all.” “I’m going to give the evolution, the civilization of a dog—development of domesticity, faithfulness, love, morality, and all the amenities and virtues.” Jack LondonThe opening scene where White Fang lures out the sledge dogs one by one and kills them - and then goes after the two men - is both frigthening and fascinating. There are several other frightening scenes - like the crucial fight with the bull dog. Oh, my. But then also delightful scenes where White Fang encounters the God’s (humans) goodness and tenderness. I had forgotton how great this classic American tale was - up there with "Watership Down"] in it’s realism and moral force.

[shanaqui_1 · Valutazione: 5 su 5 stelle]

For some reason, though I had it when I was little, I never read White Fang. I think I was afraid of anthropomorphism. I figured it was going to be kind of cutesy, not really worth my time. Much as I liked Narnia and the like, in fiction based in the real world, I wanted more realism. I obviously never even started reading it. I think the book does a good job of portraying the wolf as a completely different creature from the human -- as well as a human can do without becoming a wolf for a while himself. The slow taming of White Fang seemed more or less realistic to me, and my heart was in my mouth in the last couple of pages. The book does make you care about the characters, particularly White Fang and his final master.

I was especially intrigued by the idea of wolves/dogs seeing humans as their gods. White Fang's view of his gods reminded me of the ancient Greek pantheon -- all those jealous and fighting gods, some more powerful than others...

I'm glad I finally did read this book.

[marsap_1 · Valutazione: 4 su 5 stelle]

A classic by Jack London, White Fang could be considered the companion to London’s Call of the Wild, except in reserve. Whereas Buck from Call of the Wild finds his wild nature—White Fang finds his human love and is able to integrate into domestic life. White Fang is born in the wild to a wolf father and a half wolf mother. When he is made captive by humans, he is outcast from the other dogs because of his wildness. He learns to fight for his life. Finally, he has an opportunity to experience a new life away from the violence and savagery—but will he learn to embrace it is the question. I loved this book despite the violence and the brutality of the life led by White Fang—and the cruelty of the humans he encounters. A 4 out of 5 stars.

[karenleefield · Valutazione: 5 su 5 stelle]

I first read this book when I was a young teenager. I remember crying then. I didn’t cry this time round but the actions in this book did strike a chord with me. I really do detest cruelty to animals; the cruelty in this book is paramount.White Fang is a product of his past. He has been taught to hate. He has been taught to survive at any measure. He is vicious. He is a killer! Yet he’s these things because he has to be. His other choice is to be the weak link and die.It’s a powerful story. Well told. No holding back; aimed straight for the jugular. The biggest lesson learned by reading White Fang is that you can beat an animal (and I believe this relates to people too) into doing what you want but loving them produces a much better (long-lasting) result. A beaten animal will do as you want, but will rip your throat out if given the opportunity. A loved animal will be faithful, loyal and forever.There’s little more to be said about this book except that it’s worth reading. I highly recommend it.

[evan719 · Valutazione: 4 su 5 stelle]

Book ReviewBy: Evan MercadoThis is a classic story about survival (in my eyes). This starts off interesting with a pack of 6 wolfs, and ends up with, well, you have to read the book for that :). It ends up in a good home after attacking it's owner's family. No one knows for sure, but the other wolfs might still be alive. Only 1 dies that I know of) the rest (except for 1 who goes solo) and they travel in a pack of 4. That until they came across this tribe of Indians (I called them Indians because in the book they were called Indians, if that offends anyone).Thats when one wolf turns on the rest of it’s pack, and leaves. It found a home, owner , until a Dog Musher wants this dog. But the owner (Scott) keeps the dog and moves to Sierra Vista, with his family.

[davidgnp · Valutazione: 4 su 5 stelle]

Though I responded with boyish enthusiasm to 'The Call of the Wild' many years ago and it re-echoes in memory, I had not read 'White Fang' or any of London's other books until now. I don't think 'White Fang' quite compares with its companion novel stylistically - the later chapters in particular are too obviously allegorical and predictable - but it is equally rugged, energetic and thrilling. London excels at seeing the world through the dog wolf's eyes, and he also manages the difficult and necessary task of shifting the narrative viewpoint occasionally to move the story along at critical points. He is least successful with his human portrayals, especially the dialogue which reads as if it has been written on cardboard with too thick a pen, but he is entirely at home in the Yukon where it stands on the cusp between traditional existence and 'civilisation' in the trail of the gold rush. His evocation of the animal and human struggles in these harsh surroundings - with very survival constantly under threat - is supremely vivid and vital, inked as it were in blood.

[kenzie12368 · Valutazione: 5 su 5 stelle]

White Fang is a very good book which I recommend to 4th grade and higher readers. I think anybody would love to read this action-packed book!!!!!!!!

[theseus75 · Valutazione: 4 su 5 stelle]

Having only a cursory knowledge of London's work, I decided to choose White Fang first when considering which public domain works to record as audio books. I've only "read" it once, but have listened to it probably a half-dozen more times in the editing process. It's very well written, accessible, and very involved. At no time did I feel as if London was writing without a clear purpose and passion. Excellent read and rather timeless. As a side note, there are some very decent young adult versions with illustrations and even one with a sidebar defining more complex words. Very useful for young readers.

[corinneblackmer · Valutazione: 3 su 5 stelle]

Jack London imports Social Darwinist credo, used more clumsily and less divertingly by authors such as Frank Norris, into letters with fervor, conviction, and skill. We encounter White Fang, a part domestic dog and mostly wolf dog that lives with a pack in the wilderness and whose mother had once been domesticated by the Native Americans. As in the case of its companion volume, "Call of the Wild," (where the dog Buck moves from domesticity to the wild, as opposed to vice versa), White Fang has abusive owners who want White Fang to fight for money, but White Fang is rescued by a man who is called, under the regime of London's casually assumed racism, one of the "white human gods." A great tale, and a book that serves as an excellent introduction to literature for young adolescents, bit can be relished at all ages.

[fuzzi_1 · Valutazione: 4 su 5 stelle]

I bought this book at a book fair at school when I was nine. I cannot tell how many times I have read it. As a child, I mainly read it for the 'wolf' story, but as an adult, I have appreciated the deeper aspects of the writing. London was big on analyzing why people do what they do, not always correct imo. It's still a good read, forget the movie(s).

[eilantha_le_fay · Valutazione: 5 su 5 stelle]

This is an amazing book, highly addictive. I just couldn’t put it down. Jack London writes with detail and emotion!The story’s about a wolf named White Fang and its life through the hands of many masters. This is one of those books that transports you to another place and time while you’re reading it - a real time machine. And since it’s always told from the wolf’s point of view, sometimes it made me remember the National Geographic TV documentaries I watched in awe when I was a child.It also focuses on the man-animal relationship, and how the environment and society shape spirits and behaviours.After reading it I learned that this book is a companion novel for Jack London’s most famous novel, “Call of the Wild”, in which a dog becomes wild again, in contrast to White Fang, a wolf that becomes domesticated.

[missboyer3 · Valutazione: 5 su 5 stelle]

This is the story of White Fang - 3/4 wolf and 1/4 dog. It tells of White Fangs parentage, his birth, his early days in the wild, his meeting with men and learning to live with them, of his meeting with white men and learning to live with them. Along the way, he learns some terribly hard lessons, and also learns some great joys as well.