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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
The best part of this book was the beginning of each chapter, headed by a hilarious witticism from "Pudd'nhead Wilson's calendar."
It was wonderful to find America, but it would have been more wonderful to miss it.
It was wonderful to find America, but it would have been more wonderful to miss it.
adventurous
challenging
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It's hard to separate my 21st-century moral standards from the accepted norms of this short story from the end of the 19th century. I rated it based on my enjoyment of Twain's satirical prose and the level to which the plot engaged me, the exaggerated and romantic nature of which made it somewhat easier to separate from the horror of some of its more authentic truths.
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A short book, but highly recommended by my college english professor. Mark Twain writes this book in the accent of the region the book is set in. This made the book difficult to read at first. Once you get the hang of it the story is an interesting one and worth the effort.
Same story Twain always tells but with a bit of a twist. Short enjoyable read, if not extraordinarily predictable, which i assume it wasn't at the time of publishing.
I would like to give this book 3.5 stars. It is quite interesting to read. It is Twain's only book that deals directly with slavery.
Although it is titled "The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson", it is not a tragedy and Wilson is actually not the main character. Twain set out to write a totally different book with the Italian twins as the main characters (conjoined twins) but he couldn't make it work. The twins end up as minor characters, with the trial of Luigi for murder as the set piece of the last part of the book. Only "Tom Driscoll" is fully delineated, with the other characters sketchily drawn.
The plot, such as it is, is episodic and wandering, backtracking more than once to fill in information. You could almost call it lazy plotting, but Twain has other goals in mind. He mainly wants to show what society was like in a slave state before the Civil War. There were worse places than Dawson's Landing to be a slave, as Roxy learned when she was sold down the river. But slavery had many insidious consequences for both blacks and whites. Although written in the early 1890's, Twain wants to make clear to the reader that the repercussions for the "peculiar institution" had long-lasting effects on America.
My main complaint is that it could have been a much better book.
Although it is titled "The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson", it is not a tragedy and Wilson is actually not the main character. Twain set out to write a totally different book with the Italian twins as the main characters (conjoined twins) but he couldn't make it work. The twins end up as minor characters, with the trial of Luigi for murder as the set piece of the last part of the book. Only "Tom Driscoll" is fully delineated, with the other characters sketchily drawn.
The plot, such as it is, is episodic and wandering, backtracking more than once to fill in information. You could almost call it lazy plotting, but Twain has other goals in mind. He mainly wants to show what society was like in a slave state before the Civil War. There were worse places than Dawson's Landing to be a slave, as Roxy learned when she was sold down the river. But slavery had many insidious consequences for both blacks and whites. Although written in the early 1890's, Twain wants to make clear to the reader that the repercussions for the "peculiar institution" had long-lasting effects on America.
My main complaint is that it could have been a much better book.
Ah, the brilliancy of Twain!! This was a re-read--this time for Book Club, but boy was it fantastic. Babies switched at birth, murder, gambling, theft, duels, and oh-so-clever sleuthing by Puddnhead to crack a case of epic proportions. The science of fingerprinting makes it's debut in this book. SO good. You should read it if you haven't. :)
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes