Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Oxford Mark Twain)

Rating:
Summary: The most boring book.
Review: I can understand why this book is considered one of the greatest piece of literature in America. Huck Finn dealed with a lot of sensitive and humanity issues, in which society at the time was not aware of. I admired Twain for his audacity of bringing such faults of society. HOWEVER, I found this book the most boring and monotonous book I've ever read. Twain did not capture my attention with his coloquilism, which I thought was extremely overused. His descriptive passages were painfully verbose, I literally had to slap myself a couple of times to stay awake and read this darn book. I just found this book disgusting boring, but that's just my opnion.

Rating:
Summary: The best of Twain's work
Review: This book is much more entertaining than the rest of Mark Twain's work. However, that's not saying much since Twain is one of the most overrated authors of all time. Anyway, the story is good and the friendship between Jim and Huck is very interesting. The thing that REALLY is the most entertaining about the book is the way many PC-nuts go into fits over the use of the dreaded "N" word. (GROW UP! The book was set in the 1800's!) If you want to read the best Twain book, this is it.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book -- Mediocre Cassette
Review: I prefer Michael Prichard's reading to Garrison Keillor's. On seven 1.5 hour cassettes, Prichard reads the entire unabridged novel with flair and enthusiasm. The version I am referring to is the Books on Tape version; see booksontape.com

Rating:
Summary: A Very Big Disappointment
Review: In my opinion, this book was very boring. I say this because it went at a slow rate. There wasn't any exciting parts for me. It was plain boring but it is worth reading because you understand this person's life. But if you are like me, you'll think it is boring and don't want to read it anymore. But you have to continue and learn something. In my opinion, buy it to learn the person's detailed life, but don't be suprised if it is boring.

Rating:
Summary: A book for all levels
Review: I believe that this is truly the greatest work of American fiction out there. The greatest thing about this book is the various levels of meaning it contains. On the surface it is an adventure story that is enjoyable for all ages. However within this story is another, more crafted and cynical one. It is the story of two friend's attempted escape from society and their inevitable failure. It is a must read for all people, and its moral is more significant today than it ever has been.

Rating:
Summary: A Classic Only Garrison Could Love
Review: Huckleberry Finn, as told by Garrison Keillor, was a profound disappointment for me, a fan of all things Wobegone. As a faithful version of THE American Classic, this telling takes jarring liberities (such as changing the ending!) and leaves loose ends (Huck posing as Tom at the aunt's home is suddenly just Huck again without explanation). As a good audio narrative, forget it: Garrison's sonorous delivery doesn't make it. Very frustrating listening while driving - every word is a moan or whisper with consonants that crack and pop, so no volume is comfortable. His character voices meld together in places, making it difficult to follow the give and take between the Duke and the King. And in one spot on the river, it sounds like Guy Noir quizzing Huck! Yuck. I'd advise: pick another version, and you'll like Huck Finn and Garrison Keillor better.

Rating:
Summary: perhaps the greatest American novel
Review: All right, this is a rather subjective viewpoint. I could say, IN MY OPINION--but what's the purpose. Surely one of the best known and most readily acknowledged American classics, there is more to this book than all the tame discriptions and virulent hate mail imply. It is a rather bleak, desolate tail about two people running away from the world. The only problem is, they have no where to go. Let's ignore the so-called contoversy surrounding this book. It is idiotic, as nowhere in this book is it implied that the racist attitudes of some of the characters is a good thing. Twain was a master of dialect and speech patterns and this was, ultimately, a story about the evils of slavery and the hopelessness of many who tried to run away. Huck grows to truly love Jim. In the end, he is his only friend, the only person he trusts, the only person who has ever been good to him. Cherished characters like Tom Sawyer are distorted into manifest destiny oriented monsters, politicians of the day always trying to trick people and bend them into their will for a laugh or a selfish end. Yet Huck remains a conscientous person, seeing the evils of slavery, the cruelty of Tom's behavior, the ills of the world, the pointlessness of what his own life has thus far amounted to. A word can be used with many meanings. The controversy of this book, raging since its publication, is based solely on the USE of this word, not its context, not its implications within the narrative. This book is one of the most savage indictments of institutional racism one could ever hope to come across, yet people who refuse to read it out of fear of getting their feelings hurt or their political agendas ruffled, are missing out on this point. Twain suffered through this book. He set it aside for several years after a certain point, not knowing how to end it, getting more and more unhappy with the state of the Reconsruction. There is a rather bleak punch-line at the end of the book. Huck still wants to live his brief happiness w! ith Jim, run away again to escape society's expectations of how people are supposed to be. He thinks about "light(ing) out for the territory ahead of the rest". Twain knew, by the time he wrote the book, the territory was no more, already plundered by the government and the corporate interests. Huck's next journey would be just as pointless, just as ultimately meaningless as this river ride down the Ole Miss.

Rating:
Summary: Norton Critical Edition adds excellent material
Review: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a classic tale which everyone should read. I would like to recommend the Norton Critical Edition in particular for the additional material at the end of the book. Everyone who likes this story really needs to read the "Raft Episode" which Twain's publisher unfortunately insisted be cut out of the book. The other essays are also insightful and interesting reads.

Rating:
Summary: My favourite book of all time!
Review: I have read this book many times. In fact, I find that I want to go back to it every couple of years or so. Each time I read it I get something else out of it. The book is funny, heart warming and oh so believable!! It is truly a masterpiece.

Rating:
Summary: This book is my all time favorite book, it is so funny!
Review: This book was one of the funniest I have ever read! Mark Twain makes it hilarious, exciting, and enjoyable all through the book! Huck is such a fun charatar to read about. His adventures will make you laugh and in the end you will be attached to his unique character. You can't miss reading this classic piece of literature!