Product Description

Wild child Huck has to get away. His violent drunk of a father is back in town again, raising Cain. He won't rest until he has Huck's money. So the enterprising boy fakes his own death and sets out in search of adventure and freedom. Teaming up with Jim, an escaped slave with a price on his head, the two fugitives go on the run, travelling down the wide Mississippi River. But Huck finds himself wrestling with his conscience. Should he save Jim, or turn his friend over to a terrible fate?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2166 in Books
• Published on: 1994-04-28
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Synopsis
Wild child Huck has to get away. His violent drunk of a father is back in town again, raising Cain. He won't rest until he has Huck's money. So the enterprising boy fakes his own death and sets out in search of adventure and freedom. Teaming up with Jim, an escaped slave with a price on his head, the two fugitives go on the run, travelling down the wide Mississippi River. But Huck finds himself wrestling with his conscience. Should he save Jim, or turn his friend over to a terrible fate?

About the Author
Mark Twain is the pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1910). He was born in Missouri, USA. He travelled around America, seeking fame and fortune before returning to become a steam-boat pilot on the Mississippi River, where he had grown up. Later he became a successful journalist and travel writer. In 1876 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, inspired by his own childhood, was published, followed eight years later by The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Customer Reviews

Trash in glad rags
I do not understand the status of this novel. Firstly, it's racist, but we know that already. What really gets me is the weird language that one is expected to 'learn' in order to get the story. And lets be honest, it is a story for children with little subtle comment and no depth of character...everyone is 'Twain'! Do not waste your money....buy a Graham Greene novel instead.

An American classic that must be read by all (and never banned)
If there's any book out there that needs no introduction (or review, to be honest), it's Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Yet here I am reviewing it, anyway. I must admit (not without a fair share of embarrassment) that I just now got around to reading this American classic for the first time. I never had to read it in school, and to some degree I felt pretty familiar with the novel even without having read it - that's just how popular and important Huckleberry Finn is to the social fabric of America.

Nowadays, with all the politically correct liberals having escaped their Berkeley zoo and run amuck all over the nation, many of our young people are told not to read this novel. In fact, legions of voices cry out for poor little Huck Finn, that beloved rascal of literature, to be banned from schools and libraries - for the crime of using the n-word, a word commonly used by both blacks and whites up and down the Mississippi during Huck's time (not to mention numerous hip-hop artists of today). Turning a blind eye to the fact that Twain made the slave Jim a noble, human, easy-going fellow with his heart always in the right place (unlike Huck's other companions), the literary fascists contend that this novel is poison to the minds of youngsters. One can only imagine the reaction Mark Twain would have to the hysteria his book incites in liberals today (although he would certainly not be surprised, as he had to fight censorship of this book from the date of its publication).

One of the great ironies of the "Ban Huck Finn" brouhaha is the fact that young people will surely find this novel much more entertaining than the vast majority of other literary classics they are asked to read. This is a very funny book, especially once "the duke and the dauphin" arrive on the scene and, later, when Tom Sawyer meticulously plans out Jim's rescue from captivity (no thanks to the captors, who didn't even try to make it as difficult as Tom says it should be). Young readers will also relate to and understand this book, a fact which should give rise to spirited discussion of it in class. Don't we want our kids to be excited about books and reading?

The more outrageous the hissy fits thrown by liberal critics over the "dangers" of Huck Finn, the more important it is for everyone, young and old alike, to go out and read Twain's novel. Whenever someone tells you not to read something, it's important that you go out there and read it - and discover whatever it is the book banning loonies don't want you to know. Prove to them that you are intelligent enough to know the difference between the social values of the past and present, fiction and reality, right and wrong, etc. Think for yourself. Read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

The classic American text?
Some will argue it is the first and still the best American novel. I don't wish to dwell on this debate, only to review the novel from my personal view.

Huckleberry Finn as a character is an immensely human and lovable rogue. He is a far more complex character than Tom Sawyer, and the reader can relate much better to him throughout. His adventures with his black companion Jim are life-changing experiences, and the fact that he goes through them in childhood makes them ever so more poignant.

As a novel it is an enjoyable read, and a journey into a rich and varied landscape dotted with very real and unique characters. The plot is far deeper than a glance will tell, and Hucks relationship with his adult role models is just a start for delving deeper into the philosophy of this book.

Whichever level you read Huckleberry Finn at, it is enjoyable, funny and heart warming from beginning to end. The richness of the novel will consume even the most unimaginative reader, and if you can set aside the differences in social life of the 1860s, you will find a marvellous read. It should be read by all.