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The Innocents Abroad, vol. 2: The Authorized Uniform Edition
In which America's greatest writer accompanies a boatload of often ridiculous, provincial pilgrims on The Tour of Europe and the Holy Land, as pretensions are punctured, much supposedly taken for granted is viewed with a jaundiced eye, and what could be a mere travel book rises to the level of great literature: a microcosm of the entire human comedy.
424 pages, Hardcover
First published September 16, 2003
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About the author
Mark Twain
9,097 books18.8k followersLibrarian 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 19, 2017
Review of Volume 1 HERE
Volume 2 picks up at the departure from Pompei on the steamship 'Quaker City' heading for the Holy Lands. On to Greece, and then Turkey. From Constantinople (modern Istanbul) a sidetrip up the Black sea to isolated ports in Urkraine and Russia, before returning to Turkey, stopping in Smyrna (modern Izmir), then on to Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Israel, where the story reaches its climax in Jersualem. The return voyage calls in Egypt, and then a host of other places where they were not permitted to land due to quarantine rules.
The writing is more of the same (it is of course a single book, but split into two volumes in this case), although the closer we get to the Holy Lands, the more biblical stories are recounted to give explanation of the sights and sites. For me, as a godless heathen, they were helpful, as I had only a vague knowledge of the details of the bible stories and how they would tie to locations, buildings and natural features.
There was still plenty of mockery (self mockery included), every guide was called Ferguson (must unwillingly), and Twains fellow pilgrims are still relentlessly ridiculed.
Much less focused on the goings-on of the steamship, and more on the locations.
Still a solid 4 stars for volume 2.
Volume 2 picks up at the departure from Pompei on the steamship 'Quaker City' heading for the Holy Lands. On to Greece, and then Turkey. From Constantinople (modern Istanbul) a sidetrip up the Black sea to isolated ports in Urkraine and Russia, before returning to Turkey, stopping in Smyrna (modern Izmir), then on to Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Israel, where the story reaches its climax in Jersualem. The return voyage calls in Egypt, and then a host of other places where they were not permitted to land due to quarantine rules.
The writing is more of the same (it is of course a single book, but split into two volumes in this case), although the closer we get to the Holy Lands, the more biblical stories are recounted to give explanation of the sights and sites. For me, as a godless heathen, they were helpful, as I had only a vague knowledge of the details of the bible stories and how they would tie to locations, buildings and natural features.
There was still plenty of mockery (self mockery included), every guide was called Ferguson (must unwillingly), and Twains fellow pilgrims are still relentlessly ridiculed.
Much less focused on the goings-on of the steamship, and more on the locations.
Still a solid 4 stars for volume 2.
Displaying 1 of 1 review