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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
lighthearted
reflective
challenging
slow-paced
The only reason I give it anything over 0 stars is because I learned some interesting things about steamboats/river boats and how they work and how people worked on them. Otherwise, Twain and his fans might have said his racism in his books was satire and calling out people for being shitty, but I think it's more that he was just racist.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Mark Twain does a good job with Non-fiction too. This one is a bit disjointed. The first part is all about his early life as a steamboat pilot and it’s really interesting. Then it switches to him 20+ years later making a tour from St. Louis to New Orleans and then all the way up to St. Paul.
It’s quite good. For some unearthly reason he includes four appendixes (appendices?) which are okay as stand alone, but really not necessary.
For some reason it took me a while to get through. But it was pretty good.
It’s quite good. For some unearthly reason he includes four appendixes (appendices?) which are okay as stand alone, but really not necessary.
For some reason it took me a while to get through. But it was pretty good.
This was exactly what it says in the title - a rambling, funny, interesting look at life on the Mississippi River during the mid to late 1800s, taking time to throw in local legends, history, statistics, quotations, etc. It's a hefty book and quite dense at times, but Twain's folksy, fun writing style salvages what could have been pretty dry information. It's clear from the beginning, where he chronicles his teenage years spent learning the ropes on a steamboat, that he has a deep affection for the material and the area, and that comes through in the writing. Huck Finn even makes a short appearance in one chapter! While I did start skimming through after a while, I enjoyed the book overall. As a picture of a time and place that are gone and never coming back, this book is invaluable.
adventurous
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery
Minor: Child death, Death, War
adventurous
challenging
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
This is very much a book of two halves:
The first half detailing Mark Twain's apprenticeship as a Mississippi river pilot is really interesting and skilfully evokes a portrait of the life at that time.
The second half details a return by Mark Twain and two companions to the river years later when the river traffic had subsided significantly (overtaken by rail travel). This half does not read as well and almost feels like a 'contractual obligation' where he was contracted to hit a certain word count. The language and prose is still good, it just lacks a focus and has no 'spark'
The first half detailing Mark Twain's apprenticeship as a Mississippi river pilot is really interesting and skilfully evokes a portrait of the life at that time.
The second half details a return by Mark Twain and two companions to the river years later when the river traffic had subsided significantly (overtaken by rail travel). This half does not read as well and almost feels like a 'contractual obligation' where he was contracted to hit a certain word count. The language and prose is still good, it just lacks a focus and has no 'spark'
