lizisbee 's review for:

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

---

Re-read as adult as a precursor to James, and it's impossible to rate. I understand the historical context and significance of this novel but it's hard to rationalize that it still needs to be read in classrooms today. The repeated use of the n-slur is hard to endure (and I'm just a white lady!). But it's really the last chapters where Tom thoughtlessly and cruelly prolongs Jim's suffering--while still being viewed as a loveable rapscallion by the novelist--that make this book so hard for me to see as anti-racist. Maybe that's because I'm looking at it in 2025 and not 1885, but it's true nonetheless.