A CONNETICUT YANKEE IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT

by Mark Twain, Joseph Ciardiello

Endlich in modernisierter Fassung: Die amüsanten Skizzen des selbst ernannten "amerikanischen Vandalen" von seinen Reisen durch die Alte Welt in aktueller Auswahl. Die legendären Reportagen des großen Humoristen erheitern bis heute durch ihre gewollt naive Sicht der Dinge: Ein Landsmann - Peinliche Ohrenmusik - Pariser Fremdenführer - Michelangelo - Der deutsche Portier - Berliner Eindrücke - Eine Episoder in Baden-Baden - Trauben- und Molkenkur - Wagnermusik. Mark Twain verbrachte über elf Jahre in Europa, dessen ehrwürdige Monumente er in seinen Reisebildern ebenso unbekümmert-naiv wie ironisch skizzierte und gelegentlich vom Sockel riss. Aber auch den modernen Massentourismus ahnte er amüsiert voraus und spöttelte über all die Freuden und Widrigkeiten, die bis heute mit dem Reisen verbunden sind. Mark Twain kennen wir in erster Linie von seinen Jugendromanen über Tom Sawyer und Huckleberry Finn. Dabei hatten ihn schon vor diesen Klassikern seine Reisereportagen aus der Alten Welt zum höchstbezahlten Autor seiner Zeit gemacht. Zum 100. Todestag wurden hier Feuilletons vereint, die in modernisierter Übersetzung erstmals als Hörbuch erscheinen.

334 pages, Unknown Binding

Published June 15, 1984

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Faulkner calling him "the father of American literature." His novels include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), with the latter often called the "Great American Novel." Twain also wrote A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889) and Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894), and co-wrote The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today (1873) with Charles Dudley Warner.

Reviews

[Afnan · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF: 40%

Strong start, great premise, okay to good protagonist, I was enjoying the start mostly, waiting for it to get good and for teh chickens to come home to roost for Camelot. Unfortunately, boring as shit and after skimming, not worth the read, at least for me.

The satire is good, the commentary is biting, I just cannot deal with a classic rn. Maybe I'll pick it back up later, I HATE DNFing a book, but it is what it is. I will not force myself to essentially get sleepy.

[Rachel Smith Horn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, this was no Huck Finn.

Hank Morgan, an engineer from the 19th century is thrust back into 6th century England. He blinds folks with science. He goes up against Merlin with gunpowder-- literally, blows up Merlin's tower. He starts schools, factories, telephone wires and rail road tracks.

It is science against the Catholic church, and trying to make peasants think for themselves. The peasants who do all the grunt work so the nobility can be happy. The author has progressive opinions that can be heard yelled in the narrative.

I enjoyed Twain's voice during the narrative. The main characters seemed a bit full of himself, but one of the lessons in the book is that humans will human, no matter what era.

Some of the parts lost me, like when Sandy talked and talked and talked. She rambled, and the author showed us how she rambled, but it didn't make for exciting reading. The version I checked out from KU was formatted weird, too.

All in all, not the best of Twain's work, but I did enjoy it.

[Anthony Fratto · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great deal of the humor in this book relates to the use of old English, vs. Modern English, vs. American English, vs. British English. While this makes for lots of great humor, misunderstandings, and the like, it also makes this book a slow read and difficult to follow. I found myself having to re-read lines often before I fully understood what M. Twain was getting at. This being a work of Mark Twain already tells you that it is a good book that was very well written, a classic, however, I felt I had to work too hard to get through the entirety of this book. So why four stars instead of a lower rating? Well, it is a classic, it is Mark Twain and it is well written. Many works of literature that have followed, were stolen from this classic.

[Dawn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not how I remembered it. Of course the movie with Bing Crosby was great!

[Kirby Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s probably been 15 years since I’ve read a Mark Twain book, but after this I’m gonna have to make up for lost time. He’s out of shits to give here.

[Tyler Behar · Rating 2 out of 5]

I remember this book being a lot better

[Bill Beatty · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found it to be very tedious reading. I had to skim through the last two chapters to get to the end.

[Etienne Mahieux · Rating 4 out of 5]

Le cynisme du récit s'infléchit légèrement jusqu'à une conclusion vraiment tragique.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book showcases Mark Twain’s humor like no other. It is hilarious! Highly recommend for enjoyment. It is an interesting concept and I loved reading-reading it.

[Mechel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at the influence someone from a future time might make on a society. Even more fascinating was the insights of a monarchy government.

[Grant Aagard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a re-read of a book I’ve enjoyed reading several times before. It has always been one of my favorite stories.