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5.21k reviews for:
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: A Case Study in Critical Controversy
Mark Twain, James D. Phelan, Gerald Graff
3.51 AVERAGE
5.21k reviews for:
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: A Case Study in Critical Controversy
Mark Twain, James D. Phelan, Gerald Graff
3.51 AVERAGE
Twain flexes his parental prowess as the father of American literature with this expertly crafted novel. It’s depiction of runaway youth amidst the 1800s racial climate of the Deep South is portrayed through the lens of immaturity - the quintessential American style of simplifying complex social narrative.
I thought I was rereading this but it seems I never actually read it the first time. I read it to prepare for Perceval Everett’s James. I didn’t realize what a perfect follow up it would be to Don Quixote, which I finished recently. It occurred to me that Tom Sawyer, with his fixation on doing things like they are done in adventure books, is modeled on Don Quixote and his fixation on books of chivalry, and of course this makes Huck Finn his Sancho Panza. Reviews point out that Panza is completely taken in by Don Quixote in the beginning but slowly becomes wiser. Same with Huck. A quick web search shows I am not the first to see the similarities.
It also bears some comparison to Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead. Demon’s character and voice remind me more of Huckleberry Finn than of David Copperfield.
Anyway, for all of the troubling issues of racism in this book, I still loved the descriptive writing and Huck’s voice.
Now onto James, which I hope I find compares more favorably to Huckleberry Finn than Demon Copperhead did to David Copperfield.
It also bears some comparison to Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead. Demon’s character and voice remind me more of Huckleberry Finn than of David Copperfield.
Anyway, for all of the troubling issues of racism in this book, I still loved the descriptive writing and Huck’s voice.
Now onto James, which I hope I find compares more favorably to Huckleberry Finn than Demon Copperhead did to David Copperfield.
I enjoyed this, similarly to enjoying the prequel. Despite an odd boring bit here and there, it’s just an easy read of adventure I could get lost in. I flitted between physical book and audiobook as it’s quite a long book and audiobook meant I could still make good progress listening on my commute. It was refreshing to hear an appropriately voiced narrator on an audiobook too. I felt really sorry for Jim though and it really did make me think about the terribleness of slavery.
adventurous
dark
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Horrible blatant societal racism and dehumanization. Can’t believe this is a children’s story even with the n word removed. This version did not have it removed. Reads dystopian
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I actually loved this book. It was a bit meandering and episodic, but I found Huck Finn an endearing sort of bit. Tom Sawyer on the other hand, is a very different sort of character, I disliked him so much! The last quarter of the book was about ruined on account of him. Would’ve like to had more of Jim & Huck’s River adventures than Tom Sawyer.
After you get over the uncomfortably blazing racism, its a pretty good story.
I've heard a lot of things about this book and quite frankly I did not like it whatsoever. It was quite boring
Even better than Tom Sawyer. So much happens and all the characters are unique, interesting and memorable!
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced