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Mar 04, 2010

David rated it:

After reading Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, I realized that I had absolutely nothing to say about it. And yet here, as you see, I have elected to say it anyway, and at great length.

Reading this novel now, at the age of mumble-mumble, is a bit like arriving at the circus after the tents have been packed, the bearded lady has been depilated, and the funnel cake trailers have been hitched to pick-up trucks and captained, like a formidable vending armada, toward the auburn sunset. All More...

26 comments like (87 people liked it)

May 28, 2010

Matt rated it:

"I about made up my mind to pray; and see if I couldn't try to quit being the kind of boy I was, and be better. So I kneeled down. But the words wouldn't come. Why wouldn't they? It warn't no use to try and hide it from Him. Nor from me, neither. I knowed very well why they wouldn't come. It was because my heart wasn't right; it was because I warn't square; it was because I was playing double. I was letting on to give up sin, but away inside of me I was holding on to the biggest one of all. More...

5 comments like (28 people liked it)

Oct 20, 2010

Alex rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

19 comments like (12 people liked it)

Nov 11, 2008

Nathan rated it:

Hemingway said American fiction begins and ends with Huck Finn, and he's right. Twain's most famous novel is a tour de force. He delves into issues such as racism, friendship, war, religion, and freedom with an uncanny combination of lightheartedness and gravitas. There are several moments in the book that are hilarious, but when I finished the book, I knew I had read something profound. This is a book that everyone should read.

0 comments like (33 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Jacques rated it:

Ever hear people talk about wanting to write the "Greak American Novel"? Well, it's already done, and this is it. This novel is one of my longest standing favorites. It's a profound meditation on the nature of freedom, full of clever Southern folk wisdom, deeply sensitive and insightful.

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Jan 09, 2009

Dylanb2012 rated it:

"There was things which he stretched, but he mainly told the truth. That is nothing. I never seen anybody but lied one time or another..,"

Do you believe that the narrator is creating a meaning in the beginning of the whole story? I really can't say, but "that ain't no matter". mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" gives an authentic tale about the main character, Huck Finn. This young boy takes matter in his own hands and sets out to escape f More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Oct 04, 2008

Becky rated it:

Twain, Mark. 1884. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

This was my first time to voluntarily read Huckleberry Finn. (Also my first time as an adult.) I think both of those are good reasons why I enjoyed this one so much. We first met the character of Huck Finn in Mark Twain's novel, Tom Sawyer. Sawyer makes for an entertaining narrator. All humor, little substance. But good fun. Finn, on the other hand, is a narrator with a bit more depth. (Okay a lot more depth.) The Adventures of Hu More...

0 comments like (10 people liked it)

Aug 01, 2008

Jamie rated it:

I've never read much of Mark Twain's stuff. I vaguely remember reading A Conneticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court in college and I think I was probably SUPPOSED to read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer at some point in school, but this was the first time I had ever picked up what's supposed to be his greatest work, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I wish I had done so sooner, because it was great.

If you're somehow unfamiliar with the basic premise, Huckleberry Finn follows the adventures More...

1 comment like (9 people liked it)

Mar 03, 2008

Hope rated it:

So - this review is just a whole bunch of my thoughts about The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The first two paragraphs are somewhat cohesive, and the third paragraph sort-of means what I want it to,and there are definitley parts of it that could have been explained better, but from there...its just a mess of my thoughts. So anyway,I'm just warning you.

I had to read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn for school, and i really hated reading it. In fact, I didn't even read some of it More...

4 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 25, 2008

Mangy rated it:

Now, I'm not normally a fan of dialect, but I tell you, Mark Twain has given a fine example of the right way to do it. He is consistent in the spellings of the different words he uses and shows different ways of speaking for each of the characters. That is, they don't all sound alike. So it feels authentic. I really like that aspect. The language that Twain uses for Huck Finn's voice is absolutely delicious. It's so rich and wonderful you can cut it with a knife. He keeps up the quality of his m More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Mar 13, 2008

Randy rated it:

For a book that's supposedly the source of "all modern American literature," there's a lot you can pick on. Like the careening plot, or the last ten chapters of the book (which is kind of like eating Sour Patch Kids after a chocolate souffle). I can just see Mark Twain paging anxiously through the first thirty-one chapters and muttering, "I can't take any more of this literary merit--if I don't bring in Tom Sawyer to screw things up, I'm going to have a freaking aneurysm." More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Mme. Bookling rated it:

How does one go until age 28 before reading this? I have no idea--but I was delighted WAY beyond expectation and learned so much when I read this and taught it to my students.

Tom Sawyer was Twain's children’s "adult" book with no real social message; Huck Finn was his adult "children's" book, therefore--I enjoyed it much more than Tom Sawyer. Rich with social awareness, it was fascinating (especially, and it's a must) to read the Norton Critical Edition of the boo More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 29, 2011

James rated it:

Huckleberry Finn, like other classic works of the imagination, can provide every reader with whatever he is capable of finding as he reads. The well of the narrative runs as deep as the Mississippi River. Thus the book may be enjoyed by young boys and adults as well. It also means that the book can be and is a foundational document in American literature influencing many writers who have followed in its wake. I have enjoyed my readings and as with all great works of literature I look forward More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 22, 2009

Ericamarie22 added it

The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn, thumbs up or thumbs down? I rated this novel with a thumbs down for several reasons. My reason consist of boring, difficult, and too much.

Starting off, I found this book boring. I just couldn't get into it. The parts about Miss Watson always telling Huck what to do, just didn't make me want to read more. Another part that i found boring was when Huck was supposed to run away. Instead he decided to play with his friends one last time. " Don't gap More...

6 comments like (9 people liked it)

Jan 08, 2011

Manny rated it:

One of my absolute favourite books, which I have read multiple times. A major classic. If at all possible, get an edition with the original illustrations.
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(Expanded review based on conversation with JORDAN)

Here in Switzerland, l'affaire du mot N hasn't quite had the high profile it's received on its home territory. In fact, I'm embarrassed to admit that I hadn't even heard of it until Jordan gave me a More...

15 comments like (13 people liked it)

May 20, 2008

Skinnywhitedude19 rated it:

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is about a young boy, Huck, in search of freedom and adventure. The shores of the Mississippi River provide the backdrop for the entire book.

Huck is kidnapped by Pap, his drunken father. Pap kidnaps Huck because he wants Huck's $6000. Huck was awarded $6000 from the treasure he and Tom Sawyer found in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Huck finally escapes from the deserted house in the woods and finds a canoe to shove off down the river. I More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Feb 02, 2008

Rick rated it:

Hadn’t read this wonderful book in a couple of decades, though I used to read it every few years. The book begs to be read aloud. The dialect sings with natural beauty. The descriptions of the Mississippi, small town life and the rural landscape are poetry. The humor is stand-up comic funny and so skillful you admire the jokes with the same wonder you admire the descriptions of storms on the river, which is as if you were witnessing them, rather than reading about them. And there isn’t a better More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Charity rated it:

When I read this as a child, I really enjoyed it. But, since it had been around 20 years since I cracked the spine, I thought I would pick it up again. Upon rereading now, I've discovered:

This is not a book for children. Just look at the first line of the Duke's hapless attempt to recite Hamlet's soliloquy: To be or not to be, that is the bare bodkin. Obviously, the jokes in Huck Finn are aimed at adults. So are the life lessons -- about following your conscience and questioning the More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Ivy's Mom rated it:

July 2007 - Had to drive from St. Louis, MO to Joplin, MO and back the next day. I decided this would be the perfect book for a trans-Missouri trip...and it was. Since I knew the story it was easy to keep up with and it kept me chuckling, but it has been 25 years since I read so it was new again at the same time. I wanted to cry at the end...and give Tom Sawyer and good smack too!

It was required reading in high school. I tried to be a good teenager and hate it. Somehow it has stu More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 23, 2009

Shayana rated it:

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Have you ever had to read a book for school and there wasn’t any if, ands, or buts about it? Well let me tell you the truth I have, the book was called The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.I really didn’t like this book, you know when you’re reading a book and you really can’t understand the grammar or language because there’s a lot of slang. Another reason why I didn’t like this book was the characters like a book can have its main c More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 12, 2009

Pedr0br2012 rated it:

Have you ever read a book so confusing, that when you started to read it, you would like it, but maybe later on you wouldn’t? Well, Huckleberry Finn is one. The author was so conscious about slavery issues; he made the first African American hero book. Mark Twain made millions of people love it. However, it was so controversial that some people hated it. Because it has so much bad language, crazy accents and so many confusing words. I'm not sure if I like it or not.

What makes the boo More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jan 22, 2009

Ishaiah2012 added it

Dear reader, see if you can read this!” Doan hurt me don’t, I haint ever done no harm to a ghoas? I alwuz liked dead people, en done all I could for em, you go en git in de river ag’in whah you b’longs, en doan, do nuffin to ole jim’ at ‘ uz alwuz you fren.’’ How would you feel if you had to read this book. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain and have to go through this language. I know you would feel the same way as me. Huckleberry is very overwhelming on some parts. It had a lot More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 22, 2009

Brittany rated it:

“It’s a good book.”
“No, it’s not. It was stupid.”
“It was not stupid. It was awesome.”
“I guess. Wait, no. No it wasn’t.”
“Guys this book was both. You can’t say that it was good, but you can’t say that it was awesome either.”
Huckleberry Finn had me conflicted. This book lost me at some parts, and it kept confusing me. This book surprised me, like when a white boy helps a runaway slave. The language in this book could go both ways. The word “nigger” appears many times, More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Jan 22, 2009

Briana2012 rated it:

This book is so racist, it says the N-word too many times". "Yes it does". "The language s difficult to understand, like did they actually speak like this." "Maybe so." "And…." "This book keeps it real. The
language, the speech, and the character have real characteristics. Which makes The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn… a real experience.” “I guess so.”

I enjoyed reading the book, The Adventures of Huckleberry because of the lang More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Jan 22, 2009

Kaylam2012 added it

New and Old

Have you ever read a book that was the same old same old, but still brought something new to the table? Well, the story “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain does just that. For this reason I have two different opinions about this book, those opinions are good and bad. The fact that this book is something I can see on the news is one reason why I despise it. The conflict between man verses man, doesn’t really seem realistic to me. On the contrary, I admire thi More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 11, 2009

MCOH rated it:

I had mixed feelings about this book.

On the one hand, it's clear that Mark Twain was progressive for his day, satirizing the topsy-turvy morals of the slavery-era south. His heroes are two people at the bottom rung of the social ladder - a runaway slave, and the son of the town drunk. Though they're not valued by society, they turn out to be the two most honorable characters of the book. And I appreciated the questions it raised, about how we construct our own sense of morality i More...

2 comments like (5 people liked it)

Sep 26, 2010

Hayes rated it:

A truly grand adventure. I read this when I was in school (and hated it), but I am glad I have now seen why it is such a classic. I had completely forgotten the anguish that Huck suffers while trying to decide what to do about his friend Jim, the runaway slave. Of course he makes the right decision and learns something about the nature of prayer in the process.

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jan 13, 2009

Katerri2012 rated it:

HUCKLEBERRY CRIST and JESUS FINN! Wait what? Oh sorry I meant to say Jesus Christ and Huckleberry Finn. I guess because there so much alike I accidentally mixed up their names. You must be asking your yourself, how on earth do you shuffle the names of a lying, stealing, misbehaving, little boy, and a kind, generous, faithful, thirty- three year old man? Well even though it isn’t very obvious, if you pay attention to little details and know the story of both Christ and Huck Finn, you'll find that More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jul 18, 2010

King Dinösaur rated it:

I know you're all familiar with this book but it's my favorite so I'm adding it to my list. Also, though I've listed 1983 as the "date read", I have to admit I've read this book over a dozen times and probably will read it at least a dozen times more.

Those who would ban this masterpiece should be smacked upside their ignorant heads.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 26, 2011

Brian rated it:

A true gem of a text that is highly expressive of the American spirit of the late 1800's, lasting on until, I would say, in my humblest of opinions, 1950 or so. Huckleberry Finn himself is very American: sensible, adventurous, non-pretentious, matter-of-fact, survivalist, endowed with a sense of justice for what's fair and right, and an outcast. By contrast, old Tom Sawyer is more of the old world: domestic, idealistic, wanting things to be done the proper way, etc, although still very independe More...

5 comments like (2 people liked it)

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