When God Laughs

Published in 1911, this collection gathers a dozen stories that show Jack London reaching well beyond the frozen North. The tales move across boxing rings, prison cells, tramp camps, and drawing rooms, bound together by London’s fascination with irony, appetite, and the cruel jokes fate plays on people who want too much. The title piece sets the mood, a bitter meditation on love and pleasure told over wine, arguing that the gods laugh hardest at those who grasp for happiness. Alongside it sits one of his best-known fight stories, ‘A Piece of Steak,’ about an aging boxer staking everything on one last hungry bout. Free to download as a PDF and EPUB edition.