Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1591415 in Books
• Published on: 2002-06-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

Synopsis
'Part of my plan has been to try pleasantly to remind adults of what they once were themselves, and of how they felt and thought and talked, and what queer enterprises they sometimes engaged in.' An unparalleled celebration of childhood, Tom Saywer has delighted adults since its first publication. Tom is reckless, lazy, maddeningly inquisitive, a poor scholar and a menace to his Aunt Polly. His many schemes for avoiding work, school and punishment are quite sublime. A classic tale of boyhood adventure.

Customer Reviews

A classic
For some reason I decided to re-read this over Christmas (I hadn't read it since I was at school) and I'm so glad I did because it was much more fun and far more interesting and perceptive than I remembered.

It draws a picture of a time and place I know little about but seemed utterly convincing and I was really struck by the amount of superstition the characters in the book displayed - adults as well as children. Parts of it reminded me of my own childhood (in Essex - a long way from the Mississippi!), parts of it were very touching and parts of it were laugh out loud funny.

It's a gentle read, and the writing is both stylish and wry. I'm going to re-read Huck Finn as soon as I get time!

A classic to pick up again
Although Twain intended the novel mainly for young readers, it has to be admitted that his literary style and references to contemporary life will make it hard going for today's child reader.
Thousands of adults will enjoy coming back to the work, however, epecially if they have not read it since they were children themselves. What comes over most vividly is a boy's zest for life and adventure, and the freedom that boys apparently enjoyed in that era, and as another reader has pointed out, the degree of superstition among young and old. In this respect, however, one has only to read the earlier novels of Thomas Hardy to appreciate that superstition was equally rampant in England at the same time.
It is not only Twain's ability to create boyish adventure that continues to charm us; it is also his ability to smile at the nature of boys, and to make his readers smile too.

I thought this book was ok
This book was one where u had to understand the time period it was written in and also the authors writing.