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A review by tjwallace04
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain
adventurous
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
"A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" was definitely a unique and uneven reading experience for me. I really loved some parts of it, but others dragged. I would be wowed by a clever turn of phrase and deeply engaged by a funny scene, and then ten minutes later, my mind would be wandering. Mark Twain was trying to do a lot in this book, and maybe that is part of the problem. Humor + history + philosophy + moralizing + fantasy + satire + science fiction + social commentary. It was somewhat overwhelming, and some elements worked better than others for me.
Premise: After sustaining a blow to the head, Connecticut businessman Hank Morgan travels back in time (and across place) to 6th Century England and the reign of King Arthur. He is sentenced to death but wows the populace with his knowledge of an upcoming total solar eclipse, the date of which he had memorized. Soon, King Arthur and his court look upon Hank as a wizard with powers surpassing Merlin, and, as "The Boss," Hank quickly begins making changes and updates to 6th century society, such as starting schools, creating an army, encouraging hygiene, starting a patent office and a newspaper, re-creating electricity and a telephone system, and more. But when King Arthur dies and the Catholic Church tries to take over the country, will Hank's changes be enough to propel the country towards democracy?
The novel is highly episodic, with only a faint narrative arc leading up to the grand finale, and I struggled a bit with that format. I also struggled with the chronology. I was always a little confused about how much time had passed and how old Hank was supposed to be. Most of my favorite scenes and the ones I remember the best (a lot of it is already fading after only a few days) were the humorous ones: Hank's struggle with armor; the scene with the pig princesses; pretty much any of his conversations with "Sandy"; and his bouts with Merlin, especially the one with the fountain. Other parts were actually quite grim, such as when Hank sees the plight of the peasants.
I thought "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" felt surprisingly modern in many ways, especially considering it was written 130+ years ago. The pro-equality and anti-war sentiments were familiar. Twain was clearly very pro-democracy and not enamored with the Catholic Church and its level of control over people. He is very anti-slavery in this book - meaning the peasants/indentured servant kind of slavery, which is interesting because Twain did not seem to be much of an abolitionist.
Ever since I read "The Once and Future King" in middle school, I have loved Arthurian literature, so I was curious to read this book for that reason, but I was mostly disappointed. The key Arthurian characters have very slight roles and are not well-developed. Merlin is a prop for several funny scenes, and the Lancelot-Guinivere story does play a part in the grand finale, but otherwise, I felt like this book could have been set in any imaginary kingdom.
Ultimately, I am glad I read this classic, even though I have forgotten most of it already. It was entertaining in parts and thought-provoking in parts, and, at the end Clarence suggested that cats would make a better royalty than humans, and I can get on board with that idea. 😂
Premise: After sustaining a blow to the head, Connecticut businessman Hank Morgan travels back in time (and across place) to 6th Century England and the reign of King Arthur. He is sentenced to death but wows the populace with his knowledge of an upcoming total solar eclipse, the date of which he had memorized. Soon, King Arthur and his court look upon Hank as a wizard with powers surpassing Merlin, and, as "The Boss," Hank quickly begins making changes and updates to 6th century society, such as starting schools, creating an army, encouraging hygiene, starting a patent office and a newspaper, re-creating electricity and a telephone system, and more. But when King Arthur dies and the Catholic Church tries to take over the country, will Hank's changes be enough to propel the country towards democracy?
The novel is highly episodic, with only a faint narrative arc leading up to the grand finale, and I struggled a bit with that format. I also struggled with the chronology. I was always a little confused about how much time had passed and how old Hank was supposed to be. Most of my favorite scenes and the ones I remember the best (a lot of it is already fading after only a few days) were the humorous ones: Hank's struggle with armor; the scene with the pig princesses; pretty much any of his conversations with "Sandy"; and his bouts with Merlin, especially the one with the fountain. Other parts were actually quite grim, such as when Hank sees the plight of the peasants.
I thought "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" felt surprisingly modern in many ways, especially considering it was written 130+ years ago. The pro-equality and anti-war sentiments were familiar. Twain was clearly very pro-democracy and not enamored with the Catholic Church and its level of control over people. He is very anti-slavery in this book - meaning the peasants/indentured servant kind of slavery, which is interesting because Twain did not seem to be much of an abolitionist.
Ever since I read "The Once and Future King" in middle school, I have loved Arthurian literature, so I was curious to read this book for that reason, but I was mostly disappointed. The key Arthurian characters have very slight roles and are not well-developed. Merlin is a prop for several funny scenes, and the Lancelot-Guinivere story does play a part in the grand finale, but otherwise, I felt like this book could have been set in any imaginary kingdom.
Ultimately, I am glad I read this classic, even though I have forgotten most of it already. It was entertaining in parts and thought-provoking in parts, and, at the end Clarence suggested that cats would make a better royalty than humans, and I can get on board with that idea. 😂