The Valley of the Moon by Jack London (review)

Reviews 77 odyssey, but a story of the human odyssey as well; not just the story about one scientist and his cabin, but mankind and his evolution. Still, one generalization ought not to go unnoted, and that is Geist’s discovery that ecological studies and fairy tales share a common view of human behavior. We “strive to marry the most beautiful, noble, heroic, rich, generous, kind and mighty . . . to make secure our life on earth.” This law of human behavior is “earthy,” “basic,” and biologically sound yet right out of Grimm and Andersen. “Our human uniqueness is that we can see poetry and art in this rule.” As in Mozart’s Zauberflote “it is only after trial by fire and trial by water, after dangerous journeys and trying times” that the Prince can wed the princess. The life of our social fabric lies buried in that truth. Ecologists will probably find much to argue with concerning this and the many other generalizations Geist weaves through his story. But it all makes, still, for a fine story'. MERRILL LEWIS Western Washington State College The Valley of the Moon. By Jack London. (Salt Lake City and Santa Barbara: Peregrine Smith, Inc., 1975. 2 vols., 530 pages, $4.45 per volume.) Interpreters of Jack London and his writings frequently argue that his career faltered after the publication of Martin Eden (1909) and that in the last seven years of his life he produced scarcely any work of literary merit. If this contention is accepted, there is little reason to scrutinize London’s last writings. On the other hand, if London is viewed as an important cultural figure, evaluations of his final works may follow a different tack. Through­ out his adult life, London contributed to several of the cultural impulses that powered America during the Progressive Era. He took part in some of the social and economic disturbances of the 1890s, he participated in the Realistic and Naturalistic tendencies of contemporary authors, and he joined activist reform groups early in the twentieth century. Valley of the Moon (1913) is one illustration of London’s attachment to ideas current at the turn of the century. He agreed with persons who advocated a return to the land as a refuge from cities and factories. But with this difference: his quest was not a blind, nostalgic longing for reunifi­ cation with nature. He was convinced that early pioneers had misused the soil and that farmers must relearn the best methods for tilling the soil to save the land from continued destruction. This is the major “message” of the novel. 78 Western American Literature Much of the novel is autobiographical. As a boy, London disliked his experiences on a farm. But in his late twenties, he grew tired of Oakland, bought land in the Sonoma Valley, and soon thereafter moved to what eventually became his well-known Beauty Ranch. In the final years of his life, London followed the pattern he lays out here for his characters Billy and Saxon: he became a scientific farmer. Like participants in the Country Life Movement, London wanted to pre­ serve the vitality and restorative qualities of farm and ranch life through the application of the latest experiments in soil conservation, crop rotation, and scientific breeding. For London — and for Billy and Saxon in Valley of the Moon — retreating to the land was not enough; man-land relation­ ships must be made fruitful through wise’and scientific planning. Beauty was not entirely successful, but London’s goal to avoid the nostalgia of the back-to-the-land movement carried him beyond this sentimental trend of his times. Unfortunately, London was unsuccessful in translating his ideas and experiences into first-rate fiction. His novel suffers from a wandering plot, too many unnecessary details and episodes, and the excessive emotionalism of the characters. These problems are apparent in several of London’s longer novels and may have resulted from his 1000-words-a-day routine and his unwillingness to revise his fiction. Too much can be made of these weaknesses of structure and characterization, however, without recognizing the novel as a document of its times. The book is a revealing indicator of some...