Reviews

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

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dianareadsalot's review against another edition

4.0

Yup. I dug this one.

there were a few parts that were hard hitting for me ( about slaves and whatnot) but other than that i enjoyed this book.

cbleyer's review against another edition

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1.0

DNF

jungandeasilyfruedened's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

5.0

carriedoodledoo's review against another edition

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3.0

Tom Sawyer deserves to be shot. Not fatally, but a little light maiming you'd think would shake some sense into him. You'd THINK!!

Huck Finn is not a children's book, as Tom Sawyer is. Much more mature themes come into play, in keeping with the hardscrabble life Huck had to lead. Lots of death. Senseless killing of men and children in a bloody feud. Shameless fraudsters. The book veers from farce to adventure to tragedy and back in under 300 pages.

Huckleberry Finn is a fantastic character. And JIM. Man, I don't see how anybody could go up against this book as being sympathetic to slavery...slaveholders are uniformly depicted as callous, stupid, and sheeplike. The attitudes of the time regarding slaves are colorfully depicted in every chapter, and not in any pretty way. Jim is contrasted by his shining character, honesty and decency that his years of servitude did not diminish. Twain showed quite clearly, that this is no fatherly administration of a superior race over an inferior. It was hideous, unjust, heartbreaking. And it was the way things were! Huck just drops one bomb after another in his matter of fact voice.

A fantastic piece of fiction to illustrate "the best of times, the worst of times".

jcl9094's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Mark Twain used humor to deliver his anti-slavery position. His portrayal of racism was probably accurate for its time but heartbreaking to read. Jim and Huck’s friendship and respectful camaraderie grew as their story progressed. While Huck mentions the late evening conversations they had on the raft, I think, it would have been a better story if MarkTwain had elaborated more clearly.

The “duke” and “king” storyline was annoying at best and dragged on.
Tom Sawyer’s reappearance and his stupid prison break antics at the end of the novel reduced the value of the story.

I only read Huck Finn so that I will have its perspective to read “James” by Percival Everett.