Accendere un fuoco

To Build a Fire is about a man in the Yukon, the upper parts of Canada. He is walking to town in 75 degrees below zero weather with his husky when he suddenly slips through some snow and falls into a puddle of water up to his knee. To save his life, the man needs to build a fire. This short story wa Leggi tutto

How can one not give this story full 5 stars? When I read it, I did not know who the writer was. I have never read such a compelling story before. On the surface, it is the story of a man who fails to reach the camp and consequently freezes to death. Though he is strapping and able-bodied, he is not Leggi tutto

Well, despite the oppressive heat and humidity in western New York yesterday, this little story by Jack London managed to give me the chills! London is a master at recreating the sights, sounds and feelings of the harsh elements of the north. I seriously got up and made a cup of hot coffee in the la Leggi tutto

“The trouble with him was that he was without imagination. He was quick and alert in the things of life, but only in the things, and not in the significances. Fifty degrees below zero meant eighty-odd degrees of frost. Such fact impressed him as being cold and uncomfortable, and that was all. It did Leggi tutto

I never knew that there were two versions of this story, a 1902 story first published in YOUTH'S COMPANION magazine and a decidedly more mature version published in 1908 in CENTURY magazine. Both are realistic stories of a man's foolish actions which lead to disaster in the frozen Klondike. Vivid de Leggi tutto