Other editions of book The Game

"The Game" by Jack London. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.

The Game is a 1905 novel by Jack London about a twenty-year-old boxer Joe, who meets his death in the ring. London was a sports reporter for the Oakland Herald and based the novel on his personal observations.Joe Fleming earns his livelihood as a sailmaker and supports his mother and sisters. He adds to his income by taking part in prize-fights at sporting clubs. He is due to be married to Genevieve, who works in the Silversteins' candy shop. Joe agrees to give up "the game" but asks that Genevieve watch his last fight, on the eve of their wedding, and she reluctantly agrees. The story is told from Genevieve's point of view.

By Amazon Customer on October 30, 2007Format: PaperbackThe Game is a must for any Jack London aficionado or anyone not familiar with the quintessential California adventurer and turn-of-the-century American literary superstar. Penned when London was at the peak of his publishing powers, The Game is about a subject London knew well- boxing. London, who had many a scrape in his time, was a boxing sportswriter for the San Francisco Examiner, sparred with the "Bohemian set" in northern California, and saw allegorical alchemy in the "manly art."Protagonist Jack Fleming is drawn between his love of the game and his fiancée, Genevieve. Though uncomprehending of Jack's love of boxing, Genevieve attends his fight with the savage John Ponta. The lead-up and resolution is representative of London's themes of the civilized vs. the brute, class struggle, melodramatic love, and man's violent nature. Oregon Sate Professor Literature Michael Oriard's fine historical and biographical commentary in the introduction details how London's The Game was a forerunner of later works by Ernest Hemingway, Don DeLillo, Bernard Malamud and Robert Coover. Oriard reveals how London was a man of his time who romanticized both the working class and the Nietzschean super-hero. His citations of London's newspaper articles and personal correspondence give cultural context to this story/allegory, which London himself called one of his personal favorites. American Ashcan painter George Bellow's famous painting "Club Night" from the National Gallery graces the cover of this edition. Bellow's fighters in primal struggle along with the distorted faces and blood lust of the crowd is a perfect pick for London's The Game. This book is a classic piece in boxing fiction, representative of many recurring themes in London's works and some would argue a timeless take on human nature.

Joe Fleming earns his livelihood as a sailmaker and supports his mother and sisters. He adds to his income by taking part in prize-fights at sporting clubs. He is due to be married to Genevieve, who works in the Silversteins' candy shop. Joe agrees to give up "the game" but asks that Genevieve watch his last fight, on the eve of their wedding, and she reluctantly agrees. The story is told from Genevieve's point of view.