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Summary: race-relations propaganda
Review: absolutely tedious, over-wrought--morality tale one of those books they make you analyze to death in english class. not worth the money
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Summary: A must for all who "assume" they understand the premise....
Review: I grew up in the south, Uncle Tom's Cabin" was one of those books that I took for granted, as so widely universal, there was no reason to bother. I did myself an injustice that I have only recently remedied. The term "Uncle Tom" that has been bandied about as long as I can remember, is only now,(after reading the book) a reflection of the ignorance of those so cavalierly throwing about such terms. Uncle Tom, was a man of such profound faith and decency. It saddens me to think that the legacy of him, most called upon is a derogatory slur. Do yourself the honor of reading this fine book.
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Summary: horrible work
Review: this book is horrible and the only reason you may need to read it is to realize how bad it is. the portrait of that black man being punished and blessing his masters is impossible to bear. and she sermonizes a lot. i know she was against slavery but her depiction of black people is simply unbearable. oh god
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Summary: A rather amazing book that few people are reading today.
Review: At 65 my eyes get tired easily so I listened to a library edition of this book. I enjoyed it so much and feel so strongly that people of all races should read it that I plan to donate an audio cassett to my library. So many of the characters' names are a part of our vocabulary, but, too often, with a distorted meaning. Granted the author is "preachy" but it's a forgivable flaw since the author's objective was to encourage people of faith to express that faith in their everyday actions.
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Summary: Long, But very well put together!!
Review: I wasn't going to read it because of the bad reviews I read about it. But now I am so glad I did. And regardless of what anyone says about it, you should read it. Because once you read it you willl be very surprised how well it is put together. Well Done Harriet!!
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Summary: Uncle Tom's Cabin is a fabulous book
Review: I think Uncle Tom's Cabin is one of the best books ever written. It's a shame that this book isn't as popular any more. If it was, people would understand how things were during that time period. Some people doesn't realize how cruel slavery is and think it as no big deal. Those people would definitly feel differant after they read Uncle Tom's cabin. Plus, it's a wonderful book about Eliza, a slave that was treated well by her master had to run away with her little boy named Harry because her master was about to sell Harry and Uncle Tom to a mean slavetrader that had no respect. Uncle Tom on the other hand, had no choice but to be sold to the slavetrader. Then he was sold to Mr. St. Clare on a ship to somewheres. If it hadn't been for Mr. St. Clare's daughter Eva, Uncle Tom would of never been sold to such a nice family since Mr. St. Clare treats his slaves really well and let them where his clothes. If you want to find out what happened to Eliza and her child or about what happened to Uncle Tom, you can order the book from Amazon.com in the Internet.
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Summary: A Moving, Provocative Look at the Heart of the Matter
Review: Like many, I had heard of this book, but had never read it, accepting the commonly held (though undeserved) opinion that it was racist. After reading it myself, though, I am amazed at the power and passion Beecher-Stowe was able to embue her characters with.She loves each one of them, from saintly old Uncle Tom, to the sordid and disgusting Legree. And rather than a shuffling "Yassa Massa" stereotypical slave, Tom is one of the most pure-hearted, righteous characters ever written. His strength is in always doing the right thing. This one is a masterpiece and a must-read!
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Summary: Read it and judge for yourself
Review: Uncle Tom's cabin is frequently criticized by people who have never read the work, myself included. I decided I finally needed to read it and judge it for myself. And I have to say, that for all its shortcomings (and it does have them), it is really a remarkable book. The standout characteristics of this book are the narrative drive (it's a very exciting, hard to put down book), the vivid characters (I don't know what other reviewers were reading, but I found the characters extremely vivid and mostly believable - exceptions to follow), the sprawling cast, the several completely different worlds that were masterfully portrayed, and the strong female characters in the book. The portrayal of slavery and its effects on families and on individuals is gut-wrenching - when Uncle Tom has to leave his family, and when Eliza may lose little Harry, one feels utterly desolate. As for flaws, yes, Mrs. Stowe does sermonize a fair bit, and her sentences and pronouncements can be smug. Yes, if you're not a Christian, you may find all her Christian references a bit much. (But the majority of her readers claimed to be Christian, and it was her appeal to the spirit of Christ that was her most powerful tug at the emotions of her readers). Yes, she still had some stereotypical views of African-Americans (frankly, I think most people have stereotypical views of races other than their own, they just don't state them as clearly today). But in her time, she went far beyond the efforts of most of her contemporaries to both see and portray her African-American brothers and sisters are equal to her. The best way she did this was in her multi-dimensional portrayal of her Negro characters -- they are, in fact, more believable and more diverse than her white characters. Yes, at times her portrayal of Little Eva and Uncle Tom is overdone at times -- they are a little cardboard in places -- but both, Uncle Tom especially, are overall believable, and very inspiring. The rest of the Negro characters - George Harris, Eliza, Topsy, Cassie, Emmeline, Chloe, Jane and Sara, Mammy, Alphonse, Prue, and others, span the whole spectrum of humanity -- they are vivid and real. The comments of a previous reviewer that the book actually justifies slavery (because "it says it's no worse than capitalism") and that it shows that Christianity defends slavery are due to sloppy reading of the book. No one reading the book could possibly come to the conclusion that it does anything but condemn slavery in the strongest and most indubitable terms. This was the point of the book. The aside about capitalism was just that, an aside on the evils of capitalism. It did not and does not negate the attack on slavery. Secondly, another major point of the book is that TRUE Christianity does not and could not ever support slavery. Stowe points out the Biblical references used to claim that Christianity defended slavery merely to show how the Bible can be misused by those who wish to defend their own indefensible viewpoint. It's ridiculous to say that the book "shows that Christianity supported slavery". It shows that some misguided preachers abused certain Bible passages and ignored other ones to support their view of slavery. There is an overlay of the tired "Victorian women's novel" to this piece - that must be granted. For literary perfection, it will never take its place beside Tolstoy, Dickens and Austen. But it is a piece entirely of its own category. Nothing before or after it has been anything like it, and it IS a great, if flawed, novel. I highly recommend it. I give it 5 stars despite its flaws because it's utterly unique, and its greatness is in some ways is related to its flaws.
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Summary: Long and stupid.
Review: I didn't really enjoy reading this book. The language was too archaic for me to read (and understand) it. Don't read this book.
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Summary: This book moved me.
Review: This work of art evoked every emotion I have in me. From sympathy, to ire, to joy. This opened my naive eyes to what evils humans are capable of, but at the same time proved to me what spiritual and god-like creatures we have the potential to be. The plot follows several lives, all affected by slavery. The hero of the story is a simple minded Uncle Tom who sticks to his righteous christian ways through all the adversity he encounters as a slave. The symbolism and satire in this book make it all the more interesting and meaningful. I am only sorry I don't know more about the politics and characters at the time because Stowe makes reference to incidences in her time period. Stowe's views on the issue of slavery are excellently expressed. She doesn't come off as preaching, or arguing, merely objectively stating the facts.(Yeah right) By using sarcasm, satire, symbolism, and religious teachings, she kept the book interesting and to the point. Every word she wrote further supports her beliefs. In the end the overall mood gets a bit gloomy, but the finale is magnificent.
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