The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Yourbooks) (Ek Classics, #7) (Readitnow, #5)

by Mark Twain

Breezy, outrageous, thrilling from first page to last, Huckleberry Finn is the most widely read and universally loved work in American fiction. It is also the most imitated. "All modern American literature," according to Ernest Hemingway, "comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn.
--back cover

• ISBN10: 0812504224
• ISBN13: 9780812504224
• Publish Date: 1 January 1920 (first published 10 December 1884)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: NZ
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers New Zealand Ltd
• Imprint: Macmillan Publishers New Zealand
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 300
• Language: English

Reviews

[Shreela]

High school

“All right, then, I'll go to hell.”

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is one of America's popular classics and has a lot of hype behind it, but I found it so boring. It's like I read a different book.

I get a sense that this book is an important piece of literature, maybe because it's a product of its time, but it isn't politically correct and can be offensive at times. One of the themes is racism and some characters are racist and use racial slurs. I'm going to give Twain the benefit of doubt though because I feel like this book was written to be anti-racist even if it wasn't done well. On another note, while the dialect might be true to its time, it's very difficult to read.

The plot is frustrating, tedious, unnecessary and all over the place. What was the point of it all? It's just one absurd adventure after another and it's all so dull and uninteresting. I only found a small section of the last quarter engrossing which is when Huck stops the King and Duke from stealing the girls' inheritance.
 

The characters are bland and I feel indifferent towards them. Huckleberry's attempts to figure out wrong and right are interesting and I feel like if he was given an opportunity, he could have had a better life. Twain did Jim dirty though because he's such a passive character and reads like a caricature. I also couldn't stand Tom. He's so annoying.

I know that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was trying to achieve something, but even after reading it, I don't know what that something is. I really thought I'd like this book more, but it isn't engrossing.

“Human beings can be awful cruel to one another.”

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a rollicking boy’s adventure full of mad escapades and all types of mischief that Huck and later Tom dream up. The story features episode after episode of extraordinary action and is populated by an impossible cast of characters, including thieves, scoundrels, and murderers, with just a smattering of truly virtuous characters to remind Huck and the readers that good does exist in the world. It was clearly written with fun in mind. Beyond the surface, however, lie issues one might not expect to find in what can be classified as a children’s book. Twain takes on race, slavery, and religion in Huckleberry Finn. By addressing them all with his characteristic humor and wit, he manages to both take a stance and leave enough ambiguity for the readers to come up with their own opinions about the topics that he raises.

In a recently published version of Huckleberry Finn, all uses of the “n-word” have been replaced with “slave” in order to make the book less offensive. The presentation of race in the book, however, is much deeper and more complex than this single word. Huck has an inner debate about whether or not he should be traveling down the river with Jim and thereby helping him run away from his owner. He contrasts his feelings constantly with societal expectations and says that Tom “fell considerable in [his] estimation” when he agrees to help Jim, too, because Tom was “respectable and well brung up.” Huck makes numerous comments that the readers are obviously meant to assume are ironic, such as the comment that Jim seems to miss and care for his family as much as any white person would care for his. Jim is also clearly portrayed as extraordinarily kind, even giving up his chance for freedom to help Tom when he is hurt.

Religion is also put up for scrutiny in Huckleberry Finn, as Huck must come to terms with what he beliefs. Is what he has been taught about slavery moral, for instance? He is doubtful because Jim is so nice and grateful for all the help he gives. Huck also ponders the power of prayer and whether a “good person’s” prayers are worth more than another man’s. Many interesting philosophical questions arise that could occur to any child, yet still seem very adult.

Despite the thought and joy that clearly went into the writing of this book and the very worthy and interesting questions it raises, I did not vastly enjoy it. I found the quick succession of adventures very implausible and almost ridiculous in their number; they became more tiring than exciting at some point. This flaw improved somewhat by the end of the novel, however, as there developed one main adventure. The book could have been improved by the cutting of a few chapters, but it remains a classic nonetheless.

[remo]

Disfruté de Tom Sawyer y de Huckleberry Finn en la clase de American Literature del instituto. Los leí a la vez que los nativos, y los analizamos algo más a fondo que lo que lo habríamos hecho en España. Los disfruté mucho, los dos. Me hicieron admirar muchísimo a Twain, que fue un alma casi atemporal, buena gente, listo como él solo, y con un ojo para el alma humana que nos caló como especie.
Huck Finn es primo de Tom Sawyer. Nos embarcamos con él en aventuras por el río Mississippi, en los últimos años antes de la guerra (el libro se escribió después). Hay una gran crítica a los valores anquilosados de una sociedad decadente en todo el libro. Es mucho menos ágil e interesante que el libro de su primo, sin embargo.