The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

TITLE: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
AUTHOR: Mark Twain
PAGES: 366
RELEASE DATE:1885
GENRE: satirical novel

Summary:
Mark Twain's classic novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, tells the story of a teenaged misfit who finds himself floating on a raft down the Mississippi River with an escaping slave, Jim. In the course of their perilous journey, Huck and Jim meet adventure, danger, and a cast of characters who are sometimes menacing and often hilarious. (retrieved from amazon.com)

My Review:

My childhood was a time of unlimited possibilities and few consequences.This book takes me back to that time when magic was real; where sticks became the weaponry of elven heroes or goblin villains. The magic produced by the novel combined with Mark Twain's literary skill makes this book one of the best books I have read in my entire life. The imagery and insights into the Deep South are skillfully and methodically placed through out the novel, leaving the reader with understanding and familiarity with a culture that no longer exists. This novel, however, isn’t for everyone. By this I mean that readers may not fully appreciate the ridiculousness of little boy's pretend games and adventures, if they have not participated in them. Grand adventures (pretend pirates, robbers, etc…) were my life when I was in grade school. The way Mark Twain eloquently brought my childhood back to life has made me laugh until I almost cried. This novel may not be as enjoyable for a reader whose childhood lacked grand adventures and imagination because they are the foundation of the novel.

I must confess that I didn’t read this novel--I listened. This is also a reason why I liked The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn so much. The reader was very talented at voicing for the many characters in the novel. I feel that having read the novel I wouldn’t have appreciated it as much as I did. I can see why reading the novel would be difficult. The southern accents do become very difficult to follow and the novel does at some points seem to be going nowhere in particular. This could be seen very negatively by readers. I didn’t particularly mind the slight pauses because the story is supposed to be written by Huck and true life sometimes slows down and drifts in no particular direction.
This book is an American classic (not to be confused with the British ones) and I strongly encourage everyone to read it and to laugh at the silliness of the grand adventures of two young boys, Tom and Huck, and a run-a-way slave.

My Rating: