Huckleberry Finn

By Mark Twain, William B. Jones and William B. ,Jr. Jones

Called by some the greatest American novel, Huckleberry Finn follows a boy and a runaway slave as they make their way down the Mississippi. In a world filled with con men and slaves, Huck and Jim have only each other to rely on. Mark Twain blends brilliant satire and social commentary with breathtaking adventure, told in Huck's own wry, observant words.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Classics Illustrated
• Release date: Jul 11, 2013
• ISBN: 9781620281055

Mark Twain

Frederick Anderson, Lin Salamo, and Bernard L. Stein are members of the Mark Twain Project of The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley.

Reviews for Huckleberry Finn

[benkaboo-51322 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Things I liked:

The characters voice and train of thought frequently made me smile. The way his mind came up against big moral issues like slavery and murder and things like that were provocative, making me wonder about my own rational for strongly held beliefs.

Things I thought could be improved:

The section at the end when Tom Sawyer was doing all manner of ridiculous rituals as part of the attempt to free Jim I thought stretched credibility of Huck or Jim going along with him. Even with the reveal at the end that Jim was really free anyway I found it tiresome after a while. While I don't mind the idea of Tom trying to add some romance to the escape, I think it definitely could be have been edited down to about a third of what it was.

Highlight: When Jim finds Huck again after being lost on the raft. Huck plays a trick on him to convince him it was all a dream. Jim falls for it but then catches on and shames Huck for playing with his emotions. That made both the character of Jim and Huck sing for me.

[charrlygirl · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I "reread" this book on audio, narrated by Elijah Wood.

I haven't read this since high school and I thought it would be fun to listen to, and it was. Elijah's voices were true to the story, and brought an additional level to the depth of this tale.

I'm happy to report that this book held up to my memory of it, and then surpassed it.

[headinherbooks_27 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Re-reading since high school. Good classic!

[nicholasjjordan · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Such a hard book to review. Great storytelling, satire, America, funny, etc. The final saga of Jim escaping just makes me hate Tom Sawyer, though.

[brandyluther-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A great historical read that is full of exciting adventure and heart wrenching drama.

[overthemoon_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Unable to put up with the "sivilizing" of the Widow Douglas, beaten by his alcoholic father, Huck escapes to an island where he finds his old friend and former slave Jim. Together they set off downriver on a raft, sleeping by day, sailing by night, what seems to Huck the perfect life. With his (and Tom's) hare-brained schemes, very funny and enjoyable, something that passed me by during my childhood (though I did read Tom Sawyer and remember it well), and extremely well written.

[karenduff · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

While I really enjoyed this book, the constant use of the word nigger made me really uncomfortable. I know that during the time that the book was both written and set it was in common usage and I also know that if the book had been edited to remove any offensive terms then I wouldn't have read it because then it wouldn't have been Twain's work. Other than that I found this to be a really well written and engrossing read, couldn't put it down. Confession time - I am 37 years old and this is the first Mark Twain book I have read but I am looking forward to reading more.

[alexandraboxer · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was a good book about morality and growing up. Throughout the book Huck Finn matures and really grows into a respectable young man. Huck runs into many problems. He has money of his own, but his drunk father wants to take it from him. When he is finally given a safe home, he doesn't feel comfortable because he is so used to not being treated right. After his dad locks him up in their home, he runs away with a slave. Huck constantly questions society and realizes how wrong the mistreatment of Jim is. The story is long, but good. It teaches many lessons and is a great tale of growing up.

[saieeda_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a wonderful book that is full of humor and adventure. Heart wrenching characters, beautifully crafted dialogue, as well as social and political issues serve to make this exquisite novel a masterpiece. I personally believe this book to me Twain's best work ever.

[minnesotadebbie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of my all-time favorite books! Huck's redemption scene - and the fact that he doesn't even know he has saved himself - is the most powerful moment that I know of in American literature. Coming-of-age, travel, friendship, and social commentary: this book gets my nomination for the Great American Novel! Oh - and don;t forget the two greatest rapscallions in American literature: the King and the Duke. PS: Thanks to my long-ago English teachers who first helped me get into this book!

[tyuiop159 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I had to read this book for school, and I was dreading it. It's taken me quite a long time to read 281 pages, and it was pretty boring, but I can see why it has won the awards that it has and why it's a classic. A story about a boy's adventures along the Mississippi River that are a perfect portray of life during this time. A book that any high school teacher, college professor, student, or author to be should read.

[dougwood57 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I envy anyone who has not yet read the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. It is great fun and serious business at the same time; it is decidedly not a children’s book like Tom Sawyer. Twain weaves an entertaining tale. He gets off the funniest line in the book right off the bat: "After supper she got out her book and learned me about Moses and the Bulrushers, and I was in a sweat to find out all about him; but by and by she let it out that Moses had been dead a considerable long time; so then I didn't care no more about him, because I don't take no stock in dead people."Huck and the runaway slave Jim take off down the Mississippi and somehow manage to miss its confluence with the Ohio (where a left turn would have been in order). Amidst the wild adventures, slippery characters, and general hilarity, Twain slips slavery in as the central moral feature. The better Huck gets to know Jim, the more he realizes, to his surprise, that the black man is every bit as human as Huck himself. Huck, however, has been taught that helping an escaped slave is a sin for which he must surely burn in Hell. Huck decides he must consign himself to eternal fire rather than desert his friend.Read this book.

[booksbooks11 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Really enjoyed reading this after tackling a couple of George Eliot classics this was a nice break. I haven't laughed out loud to many books but this one got me eventually. Capable readers from age 11 or so would enjoy it (not that I've managed to convince any to finish it).

[she_climber · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I believe that the Notice provided at the very onset of the book (Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot.) pretty much sums of the book. I did not find a motive, a moral, nor a plot but nevertheless found the book somewhat enjoyable. I kept wanting the book to get where it was going, only to remind myself that it wasn't going anywhere and like a raft on the Mississippi I was just going to have to sit back and enjoy the ride. I cringed at the racism in the book, but understood that's just the way it was back then and was fascinated by how people could have once (and sadly some still) think the way they did. Overall the book was just too slow-paced for me, but I found myself several times thinking that I needed (and should have previously) read Tom Sawyer.

[fufuakaspeechless_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked it much better the second time. Mark Twain has an amazing writing style. Definitely recommend.

[mlpybas33 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Everyone loves a classic novel. In this case, you may not. Mark Twain was a realism writer. Meaning he believed that good characters were more important than plot. So, if you're only looking at the plot, this book has no point whatsoever. But if you do look only at the characters, they develop before your eyes and you really get to know them. This novel has many great themes like racism, classism, and freedom. I would not consider this novel racist, or Mark Twain, because (once again) Mark Twain was a realist writer. He wrote how it was in the civil war era. So there was slavery and discrimination of colored people. I learned a lot from this book, so I recommend it to you!

[rebeccaann_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

10. [The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn] by [[Mark Twain]]1010 Category: None324 pagesI read this once about ten years ago. I remember thinking it was alright but that Twain wasn't an author I was ever really going to explore on my own. My, how the times have changed. This book was amazing. It was absolutely hilarious (I couldn't stop laughing at the end when the whole scheme was revealed to Aunt Sally) and yet it had just the right amount of the brutality and cruelty of the time showing through. The atmosphere created was perfect.This is a very character driven story. Plot-wise, it kind of mirrors life (Twain was a realist) in that it doesn't really go anywhere. Events happen and the characters develop because of it, but there's not really an "ultimate event" at the end. Well, there's sort of one but it was completely pointless in the end. I loved Huck's development from spouting off what he was taught to making his own decisions.I loved this book so much that I bought seven or eight other books by Mark Twain before I even finished this one and I cannot wait for them to get here!5 stars!

[jonfaith · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

matters appear hysterical on goodreads these days. Ripples of concern often appear daunting to the literate, cushioned by their e-devices and their caffienated trips to dusty book stores; why, the first appearence of crossed words often sounds like the goddamn apocalypse. Well, it can anyway. I find people are taking all of this way too seriously.

I had a rough day at work. It is again hot as hell outside and I just wanted to come home and listen to chamber music and read Gaddis until my wife comes home. Seldom are matters that simple. It is within these instances of discord that I think about Pnin. I love him and the maestro's creation depicting such. I situate the novel along with Mary and The Gift in my personal sweet cell of Nabokov, insulated well away from Lolita and Ada, perhaps drawing strength from Vladimir's book on Gogol, though certainly not his letters with Bunny Wilson. It is rare that I can think about Pnin washing dishes and not tear up. I suppose I'll survive this day as well.

[egoose_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Emily GooseAmerican LiteratureMrs. J. Clark Evans27 August 2007Reaction to A Walk to Remember by Nicholas SparksNicholas Sparks’s A Walk to Remember is a heart wrenching story about a young, first love and heartbreak. While this may sound like a traditional love story, this novel was nothing of the sort. I laughed, cried, and took time to dwell on the storyline. At times I put the book down to think, ponder, and imagine “what if.” Sparks writes about two seventeen year olds, Landon Carter and Jamie Sullivan, who live in Beaufort, North Carolina and find themselves unexpectedly in love. Landon was a typical rule-breaking, willing-to-do-anything-for-fun teenager, while Jamie was anything but. She carried her bible wherever she went, wore a plaid skirt with a sweater and a smile everyday, spent time weekly at the local orphanage, and said “hello” to every person she passed by, “just because.” Through a school play and periodical conversations on her front porch, they slowly grew quite fond of each other. It wasn’t long until they spent all their time together and Landon was falling for the girl he had once spent time making fun of. Throughout the formation of their friendship, however, Jamie had been keeping something from him. She had been diagnosed with leukemia six months previous and the side effects were worsening as the days passed. With the secret out, the two faced monumental hurdles together and their lives were changed forever. While they knew their love was special, strong, and impossible to let go of, they were aware that their time together was quickly coming to an end. A surprising conclusion led the reader to believe that miracles can and do happen, one just needs to look deep for them. Sparks has a way of making every story he writes easy to connect to, even if the reader has never experienced what he’s writing about. His word choice is descriptive, picture-painting and mind boggling. The plot twisted and turned throughout the story, keeping the reader guessing to the very end. Jamie and Landon’s story is one that I will not soon forget. Their strength together in the situation they were in was truly admirable. I believe that young love is a rare and extraordinary occurrence. Sparks sent a message to the reader that if it happens, to hold it tight and value it because it may never happen again. I recommend Nicholas Sparks’s A Walk to Remember to all readers who are willing to let themselves cry and genuinely appreciate a one-of-a-kind love story.

[taciturning · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Truly deserves its status as an American classic.

[kellyholmes-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Yet another banned book that kicks ass.

[edwin6gleaves · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A nicely bound, nicely printed, edition of Huckleberry Finn, this time by an Indian publisher and printer. The validity and accuracy of this edition yet to be determined.

[ainjel-3 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book is quite humourous and satirical, and for the most part, it's quite fun to read. I did zone out for a bit in the middle there, losing interest when it wasn't about Huck's tomfoolery, but I greatly enjoyed the parts with Tom. The relationship between Huck and Tom is quite interesting and captivating, and really elevates the story itself.

[nu5bibliophile · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Re-reading since high school. Good classic!

[sammii507 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Yeah, I wasn't terribly impressed by this book. It started out good enough, but by the middle it was just like pulling teeth. All that stuff with the Duke and the King and all that stupid stuff just bored me tears. It was all I could do to read ten pages a night. And then I absolutely hated the end of it, it just seemed so stupid, and entirely heartless to make such a game of helping a man escape from slavery. I didn't find it funny at all...rather I found it pretty disgusting.

And even though I knew that the language was accurate according to the dialect of the time, I'm a 21st century girl, and couldn't help but feel disgusted and actually offended by the attitudes and language. It's just constant, and Twain entirely embraces just about every negative stereotype possible to use in this book. I can completely understand why this book has been banned, even if the greater themes of it are not racist at all. I think it's just one of those books that it's hard to see past what's on the surface, especially by those of us raised to the greater sensitivity of the 21st century.

[rosenstern · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Huck Finn's voyage with Jim holds much significance and is still debated today. Read it and you decide what it means, but I'll say this- this book is about friendship, war, crime, unjustified hate and prejudice, religion and freedom and still manages to stay lighthearted. Worth it.

[kristelh_15 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Published, 1885, first published in UK, 1884I listened to the audio read by B. J. HarrisonI thought I had read this before, but now that I have reread it (or not), I can’t say that I remember a thing. This is an adventure, a quest, of Huckleberry Finn, a poor motherless boy with a drunken father who beats him and his adventure on the Mississippi River with the runaway slave, Jim. Jim is running away from slavery because he fears being sold south but ironically Jim and Huck head off, going further and further into slave country as they go down the river. OPENING LINE: You don't know about me, without you have read a book by the name of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," but that ain't no matter.QUOTES: "All right, then, I'll go to hell"- and tore it up.”CLOSING LINE: I been there before.The importance of this book is that it is the first American novel written in the vernacular of the characters living in the area along the river. It is a story about slavery but was written after slavery was abolished. It is a satire of entrenched racism. This book has been banned and may even still be banned because of its language and use of the racial slur “nigger” or more politely said, “the n word”. The book really is antiracist. Huckleberry Finn spends time on the raft with Jim who he promises not to turn in. Huck feels he is sinning by not turning in the runaway and finally reconciles by saying “all right, then, I’ll go to hell”. While on the raft, Huck gets to know a black man. MY REACTION: as I said in the beginning, I was surprised not to remember anything about this book. I must have only read Tom Sawyer. so glad I decided to reread. I think it is definitely a young person’s novel. I liked the first part best, the trip with Jim down the river and I liked the part least where Tom joins Huck and play the prank on Tom’s relatives. The use of the “n” word is so frequent and with our current awareness that this word is distasteful, it was distracting. Because it is a classic adventure story that occurs on the Mississippi River, I do think it holds a special place in American literature. What I liked best was the River, the Mississippi River is such a great river character in literature. I rated it 3 stars, mostly for enjoyment factor, I think it just didn’t work as well as it would have would I have been reading it in sixth grade.

[kottenbrookk · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book adapts the story of Huckleberry Finn’s journey down the river for low-level readers, while keeping intact the characters and themes that have made the story a classic. Greatly simplified, the book would be a useful tool for teaching basic reading skills, while exposing the reader to cultural reference points and preparing them to tackle the original novel once their reading level has improved. The adapted story progresses much more quickly than the original, decreasing the chance that struggling readers’ interest will be overshadowed by the effort of reading the text. The quicker pacing can feel awkward at times, but so much that it would confuse or distract the reader. A few black and white illustrations throughout provide breaks from the text, alleviating readers’ fatigue. Chapters are a few pages long, and each page contains about fifteen large-print lines. Paragraphs are composed of several short sentences, which usually have only one or two simple clauses. Because of its clear storytelling and simplified language and structure, this adaptation is a useful introduction to classic literature for readers who are not ready for the original novel. It is a solid educational tool for remedial older readers as well as precocious younger ones. Table of contents. Recommended. Grades 5-12.

[mattpearson-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Probably my number one book of all time. The language, the voice, the stories, the sense of what it means to be an American.

[gregorio_roth · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked this book a lot. The experience of encapsulating every chapter into a poem was a fun but challenging experience. Twain had a lot more than just a kids book in mind when he wrote this book. He was writing to all people who were caught up in the political question of the time: "Should one leave slavery alone, or do something about this issue?"

I however, did grow tired of Tom and felt like grabbing him by the lapels and screaming, "Grow up Kid!" But it was merely a book, and Tom Sawyers merely a fictional character, so I restrained myself.

This book is an astute answer to the political cross hairs of the nineteenth century.