Reviews with content warning for Slavery - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Classic Starts Series)

Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Classic Starts Series) by Arthur Pober, Mark Twain, Dan Andreasen, Oliver Ho

53 reviews

fanni_b22's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring 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? No

4.0

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elixsdgn's review against another edition

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adventurous funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Such a cute book, huck is such a funny, loveable character

ofc can be seen as problematic but to me its just a young boy who is very brave and good hearted who was raised in the south.

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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted reflective 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? Yes

4.0

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vkce23's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

So difficult to rate this book with modern standards. An engaging adventure story with horrendously outdated racist language and a society that is hard to read through. The bones of it are fun and the adventures improbable, but you get past that. The treatment of slaves and the language used is pretty tough. I read this in preparation for James by Percival Everett and I can’t wait to move to Jim’s perspective. I can imagine in Everett’s hands it will be refreshing and insightful. But for a book written in the 1880s, Huckleberry Finn is surprisingly easy reading.

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emmavardy2's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

How is it possible to rate this classic? I read it in parallel with James by Percival Everett. I struggled to engage with it not least with the overt racism.

Is this a book that is pro or anti slavery. I really have no idea and there much been written on it. Definitely of it's time and love or loathe part of American fiction history.

Should definitely come with trigger warnings as so much racist language. An infanticide account of slavery at times, mocking or a clever critique?

Read it certainly but go in with your eyes open and prepare to be shocked as you should be. And definitely read James by Percival Everett.

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duarshe's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging funny hopeful reflective tense slow-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

4.5

So I've explained a lot of times my problems of speed and lack of attention span while reading classics, and that's the reason why I combine reading the book with listening to the audiobook. With The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn it was no different, but listening to the audio was not only a good idea because it helped me get through it faster, but also because it added to the experience of the Southern accent and the characters' sassiness and attitude. I loved Huck's coming-of-age story in this book and the climactic moment in which, by deciding to save Jim after he's been sold by the king, he is also deciding to choose his own personal values apart from the ones that his society has been telling him to be the correct ones. It is obvious that, while still being able to see past Jim's race and being loyal to him, there are many moments in which we still see present the racist prejudices of the time that have become intricate in the people of the period. Needless to say Jim has become one of my favourite characters of all time. He was both a fatherly figure and a friend to Huck, and his loyalty and love for him were constantly present from the beginning of their journey till the end (just as Huck growing love for him). And, even when Tom Sawyer made him waste his precious time to fulfill the kid's romantic and fantastical plans and schemes to help him escape, he was always an angel about it and even gave up the opportunity to be finally free to be able to save Tom's life. I swear Tom Sawyer had me at the edge of the sit every single page, that kid needs some serious reality check (although he was hilarious, I'll give him that). Literally, what do you mean he was free all along? Without a doubt, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn might be one of my favourites classics to date, which I actually didn't see coming.

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amalas_bookstop's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny informative lighthearted medium-paced

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

2.75

I enjoyed Hucks perspective just a little bit more than Tom’s, however the language was still hard for me to read. I am very glad I finished it, I won’t pick it up again.

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thecriticalreader's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

0.5

I somehow made it through the American public school system and college without having The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as my assigned reading. I’ve never had a desire to read it, but I saw that Percival Everett recently came out with James, a reimagining of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of the enslaved Jim. I thought I should read the source material it’s referencing before starting that book.

Now, I’m normally someone who vehemently defends classics against charges that they’re boring, but I have no defense for Huckleberry Finn. I found this to be an excruciating read. The plot is a bunch of episodic nonsense strung together with lies, incredibly unbelievable coincidences, and general shitty behavior. I didn’t like the characters or the satire. There were a lot of scenes I found to be straight-up unpleasant in their casual violence (also, lots of animal abuse!). Throughout most of the book, I liked Jim’s character and thought that he was actually supposed to be written to subvert racial stereotypes, but by the end, I realized that was just wishful thinking. The racism in this book is a product of its time, sure, but I think we’ve reached the point where we can let this book go as a beloved American classic.

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kreglow's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging funny hopeful lighthearted sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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sha's review against another edition

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adventurous funny sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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