'Jack London in Paradise: A Novel,' by Paul Malmont

Since Jack London's mysterious death in 1916, he has been, like one of the frozen men in his Klondike tales, a writer encased in his own reputation: We know him as the dog writer. Whether it was Buck in "The Call of the Wild," coming to terms with his inner-wolf, or the husky in "To Build a Fire," edging out his master in a Darwinian struggle against the cold, London could lock our emotions onto canines without making it feel like a sentimental exercise.

By Thomas Meaney

January 5, 2009