Uncle Tom's Cabin
by Harriet Beecher Stowe
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Read in September, 2005
Once again Kori, my real estate agent, finds a treasure. No we’re not talking about houses but she has given me some of the better leads on books and Uncle Tom’s Cabin surprised me with its story of slaves in Kentucky.
I remember reading in school how Uncle Tom’s Cabin cause quite a stir back in its day but never quite understood who Uncle Tom was. Uncle Tom was a slave in Kentucky (where supposedly slaves were treated better?) whose master was forced to sell him for the good of the pla...more
I remember reading in school how Uncle Tom’s Cabin cause quite a stir back in its day but never quite understood who Uncle Tom was. Uncle Tom was a slave in Kentucky (where supposedly slaves were treated better?) whose master was forced to sell him for the good of the pla...more
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recommends it for:
history classes, Beloved fanatics
O.k. so I was supposed to read this in my high school a.p. class. I think my friend and I may even have taken turns reading parts of it, but it never really happened. But, this last semester I actually read it twice, because that's what my Amer. Romanticism professor suggested we do, and, to be honest I was kind of scared of him for a while...
But, here's the deal. It really isn't a great book. It started out as bed time tales for her kids, progressed to installments in a magazine, and the...more
But, here's the deal. It really isn't a great book. It started out as bed time tales for her kids, progressed to installments in a magazine, and the...more
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Read in April, 2005
From a blog post I wrote in 2005:
The latest in our continuing series of the classics was Harriet Beecher Stowe's classic anti-slavery work, Uncle Tom's Cabin. What an amazing work it was/is. Originally published as a weekly series, the entire work was published in 1852 and sold an incredible 300,000 copies in a few years. It's actually never gone out of print at all.
Her stories of the lives of several slaves and their owners is extremely moving (though quite dramatic and simplistic in pa...more
The latest in our continuing series of the classics was Harriet Beecher Stowe's classic anti-slavery work, Uncle Tom's Cabin. What an amazing work it was/is. Originally published as a weekly series, the entire work was published in 1852 and sold an incredible 300,000 copies in a few years. It's actually never gone out of print at all.
Her stories of the lives of several slaves and their owners is extremely moving (though quite dramatic and simplistic in pa...more
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Read in June, 2006
This is an awesome book, I will always remember it as one of the best books I’ve ever read, like Of Mice and Men, “East of Eden”. The characters are endearing. When I closed the book for the final time, I knew I would miss Eliza and Harry, Tom and little Eva, young George, and Emmeline and Cassy. Stowe spends extensive time developing each character allowing us to see how they think, speak and act in many situations. At times, this makes the book long but I didn’t mind.
The narrator s...more
The narrator s...more
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Read in February, 2008
This book had more sympathetic/helpful white people in it than any other slavery-based book (all nonfiction so far) I have read yet. I don't know if that is because it was written by a white woman, if it was because so much of the book was set in Kentucky rather than the Deep South where the situation for slaves was so much more desperate, or if it was because the story was fiction. It makes you wonder what the situation was really like. I know that all white people weren't Satan, but the lif...more
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Read in January, 2007
I normally like Harriet Beecher Stowe's style of writing but the other stories I've read were written for fun. She made a comfortable living as a writer of boys adventure novels (under the pen name "Christopher Crowfield") and was a neighbor and mentor of Mark Twain. Uncle Tom's Cabin had a definite political agenda and while it proved to be a significant and influential story (as well as a best seller) it is a flawed story.
Harriet Beecher Stowe was inspired to write Uncle Tom's Cabin...more
Harriet Beecher Stowe was inspired to write Uncle Tom's Cabin...more
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Read in February, 2008
While Harriet Beecher Stowe was clearly adept at creating vivid characters and compelling, emotional scenes, I had some problems with the book both structurally and stylistically. Whereas I thoroughly appreciate her attempt to expose slavery for the evil that it was, the pace of the book slowed considerably as she left off her early characters and makes one character (St. Clare) so central that he overwhelms the narrative and slows it down. The irony is that he is clearly the voice of Stowe/cons...more
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Read in January, 2000
I know, I know, it's a monumental artifact in American history, and the catalyst to the spread of the abolitionist movement to the masses. I totally appreciate the historical and cultural significance of this book. No question.
But seriously, y'all? This book SUCKS as a piece of literature. For real. I just can't get past how bad the writing is--the reason why I'm such a voracious reader is simple: I read books for aesthetic pleasure. That's it. I really don't give a shit about anything beyon...more
But seriously, y'all? This book SUCKS as a piece of literature. For real. I just can't get past how bad the writing is--the reason why I'm such a voracious reader is simple: I read books for aesthetic pleasure. That's it. I really don't give a shit about anything beyon...more
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
history buffs, or if you like old literature
I've wanted to read this book for a long time, and have had it waiting since Christmas 2005. Harriet Beecher Stowe lived next door to Mark Twain in Hartfort, CT, although I didn't take a tour of her house when I visited Mark Twain's. I recently took a long train ride, and got half way through the book during the trip. It's a long, interesting, sad book. Difficult to accept that although it is fiction, she was describing the actual situation in the US as the time she was writing. It has been said...more
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Read in June, 2006
I've heard about this book for years and remember people mentioning it in high school--though for whatever reasons none of my teachers used it in their reading schedules. Melissa received a copy several years back and had begun reading it off and on. Once I was done with Crucial Conversations i picked up Uncle Tom's Cabin just to glance at the first couple pages. It turned into 30 pages and then we were competing for the book until I checked out another copy at the library.
I really liked this ...more
I really liked this ...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in April, 2008
I was hesitant to begin and honestly even to finish this book. Through it's fame, I had known somewhat of it's conclusion. I assumed it was going to be a very sad read. However, I discovered Stowe to be very considerate in her relation of the horror around which this book revolves. It was not at all a depressing read. I found it quite the contrary. Though tragedy is plentiful, true to the relation of the times, I found the story uplifting and inspiring.
Uncle Tom's Cabin is a magnificent...more
Uncle Tom's Cabin is a magnificent...more
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recommends it for:
no one
So, have you heard about the rumor that Abraham Lincoln, when meeting Harriet Beecher Stowe, shook her hand and said "So, this is the little lady who started the war."? I read this book and the first thing that came to my mind was "who in their right mind would start a war because of this idiotic piece of propagandist idiocracy?" That being said, Harriet Beecher Stowe has a very well developed imagination, but she obviously didn't know much about slavery. I was a bit offen...more
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Read in February, 2008
This was on my Meridian list of 100 must reads. I'm glad I read it as I've visited Harriet Beecher Stowe's home a few times in my life, and have of course heard of the influence this book made on our country's history.
I have not read any reviews on the book or studied it in school, so can only go off of my own interpretations of it - I was surprised at the differences in races that Stowe felt were inherent despite her compassion for the treatment of black people. I also was surprised at so...more
I have not read any reviews on the book or studied it in school, so can only go off of my own interpretations of it - I was surprised at the differences in races that Stowe felt were inherent despite her compassion for the treatment of black people. I also was surprised at so...more
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Read in December, 2007
Uncle Tom's Cabin was written in the late 19th century and often reads like it...but actually reading the very book (after so long reading about it) that in many ways set into motion the abolitionist sentiment that began the Civil War makes for fascinating (and often, sad) reading. It's a truism that Lincoln stooped down to HBS upon meeting her and proclaimed, "So you're the little woman who started this great war!" This book is in many ways difficult- it's probably the most famous ant...more
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Read in November, 2003
recommends it for:
History readers, race relations readers, classics readers
It’s kind of funny that “Uncle Tom” became a slur when that character was a noble, brave man who stood up for his beliefs, even against whites who would do him the worst harm. I guess most people who use that epithet never bothered to read the book, or perhaps never finished it. Its action peeks early on with a chase scene across a half-frozen lake, and it meanders very badly after that, more often dealing with moral dilemmas or the evils of slavery and bigotry than actually in telling an ...more
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Read in November, 1998
I read this back in high school and then again, independently, my junior year of college as an experiment to see if my perception of the novel had changed. I know it's an epic work and that it had an enormous impact on society when it was published back in the mid-19th century, but I just don't think it's held up very well. I disliked it then and I found it virtually unreadable the second time. It's a joyless, offensive work of literature that really has no place in the literary canon. Mark Twai...more
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Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
Everyone!
So I expected this book to be dry and historical--it is anything but! The style felt so modern--I seriously would have thought it was written in the 1960's, not the 1850's. Although the tone was sometimes preachy, it was easy to grow and love the characters.
During slavery, marriages between black husbands and wives were totally disregarded. It seemed common for fathers to be taken away from their families. And children were sold away from their mothers, growing up on their own, or raised by...more
During slavery, marriages between black husbands and wives were totally disregarded. It seemed common for fathers to be taken away from their families. And children were sold away from their mothers, growing up on their own, or raised by...more
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It took me a long time to get into this book. It's been on my Currently Reading list since I opened this account, and I had started it long before that. It was one of those that I thought I should read because I'd always heard it was an important book, yet one I couldn't get into. I would read a chapter here and there in between other books I was reading, but I couldn't get into the plot or the characters.
Until my most recent attempt. Suddenly I was engrossed, and I ended up loving the book!...more
Until my most recent attempt. Suddenly I was engrossed, and I ended up loving the book!...more
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Read in January, 2005
recommends it for:
anyone with a heart
This book has a little bit of an awkward start.. I started it once and then put it down because it hadn't matched my expectations, somehow got myself to start again and once I got to know the characters and the story started moving (by the second chapter) I quickly fell in love with it. There are a few different story lines going on at the same time. People keep going where I wasn't planning them to: seperating, being chased etc. Over all I learned so much about respect for all of mankind. There...more
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it was not good.
i know, i know...it was a different time, and for the time, i am sure it was shocking and progressive.
it isn't interesting, the characters are retarded, and it was more than mildly offensive.
'roots' was much better.
i know, i know...it was a different time, and it's not fair to hold books written in different times to the same standards that i hold more recent works, because they're produced in a totally different culture.
still, it sucked.
jane austen doesn't suck, and ...more
i know, i know...it was a different time, and for the time, i am sure it was shocking and progressive.
it isn't interesting, the characters are retarded, and it was more than mildly offensive.
'roots' was much better.
i know, i know...it was a different time, and it's not fair to hold books written in different times to the same standards that i hold more recent works, because they're produced in a totally different culture.
still, it sucked.
jane austen doesn't suck, and ...more
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 3.66 (3413 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 3.76 (2304 ratings) number of reviews: 349popular shelves
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"There are in this world blessed souls, whose sorrows all spring up into joys for others; whose earthly hopes, laid in the grave with many tears, are the seed from which spring healing flowers and balm for the desolate and the distressed."
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