Jack London

When God Laughs & Other Stories Annotated Jack London

This outstanding collection includes "The Apostate," "Just Meat," "A Piece of Steak," and "Chinago." In The Apostate his concerns with the working poor and his dislike of pre-union-era capitalism are evident in a grim story about a young man who is brutalized by the subhuman working conditions in a textile mill, yet achieves a kind of liberation in the end. London's fascination with primitive male characters is evident in Just Meat, a story of two thieves who plot each other's demise in a selfish grab for a hoard of recently stolen jewelry.