Huck Finn is easily the best book that was a mandatory read in school. We had to read it in 8th grade, but I’d already read it a couple years earlier. Mark Twain could tell a story, and his use of dialogue was excellent and rather innovative for the time. I found that if you read Jim’s lines out loud, the character almost jumped off the page at you.

a classic........ more aimed for the younger generation...... but to live through the trials and tribulations that huck and tom get into....... and to see things from huck's point of view..... the speech is a little hard to understand, but read it outloud, it will make it easier.

This is one of the top ten great American novels, but it is falling down the memory hole with the rise of political correctness.  I need to pull my copy and read it again.  I haven't read it now for decades.

Read a little. It was pretty good!

I love how Huck spells the word "civilize."

its good. but its like a popular song on the radio. you have to listen to it over and over again. we had to read this book like 5 times in school. got boring and got old

it's okay...i just happen to think that Mark Twain isn't really all that great..

He wrote for his time, and is still one of the most authentic, talented American writers to grace us with their wit. Funny, irreverent, sharp, not afraid of controversial subjects such as racism and religion. I don't hold with those who believe Twain glorified racism in this story--say, like, contemporary filmmakers who toss slurs and stereotypes into movies like so much box-office confetti. It was the horrible reality of his time; so he wasn't a "gentleman" that avoided it. It's more of a reflection of modern America that we want to apply concealer to all the blemishes in America's past. Dangerous choice, I say.

Really good history lesson as well as makes you wish you had the freedom Huckleberry had when you were a kid

Another great book!

A true masterwork, by one of the great writers of all time. Arguably one of the two or three greatest American novels.

Twain's decision to have a poor Southern boy tell the story in his own way and his own voice makes this novel so much more authentic than The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and just about anything else written about the poor to that point in American literature. The language is utterly beautiful and needs to be heard aloud. The last few chapters, in which Tom "frees" Jim, are ridiculously protracted byt their indirectness represents, in its own painful way, America's slowness to do justice to former slaves.

Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn is a classic novel, that was way before its time.Twain was genius with his sarcastic and dry humor of the book overall. Yes, the book had some controversial moments, but in the society we live in now, what he wrote is nothing compared to books on the shelves these days. I will admit when i first read this book i was shocked that they used the n-word so much. But the tale, he was telling was that of a young runaway boy and you saw through his eyes, and the way Twain made his characters spoke made you almost feel like you right there on the raft with Jim and Huck. But,back to the controversial aspect of the book, is it really that bad? Now, Twain did show the sides of slaves and how they were treated and how they had to leave their families, Twain didn't make racist comments towards slaves or anyone, if he was poking fun at anyone it was at everyone. More he made fun of society and how hypocritical everyone can be. But, in the end this book is classic masterpiece.

Mark Twain's novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is a good read for anybody interested in Mark Twain's opinion on racism. The reader's view on racism also affects the perception of Mark Twain as a controversial author. When the word nigger is used in the novel, readers may assume that Mark Twain is racist. For example, when the steamboat crashed Aunt Sally said Good gracious! Anybody hurt? Then the watchman replied No'm, killed a nigger. This shows that niggers are not valued as much as a white person would be if he died. The reader could view this as two different ways. Mark Twain could be viewed as being a racist or he is making a point that racism predominated in the South before the Civil War. Also, to make a point that Mark Twain is not racist, when Jim ran away from Mrs. Watson because she was going to sell him, he came into contact with Huck Finn. Huck Finn found out why Jim had escaped and he began to help him. This shows that it didn't matter to Huck why Jim had escaped or the fact that he is a nigger, but that he was in need of help. Mark Twain continued to follow Huck Finn and Jim as Jim continued to find his way back to his family. In effect, Mark Twain is writing about Jim's quest for freedom and how a young white boy with not much to offer helps him. To conclude, Mark Twain writing can either offend a reader or can show a reader that Twain was revealing the racial situation at the time period. Twain uses Huck Finn to show that a nigger should be treated as humanly as a white person.

Did any of the negative reviewers actually read this book? It is not racist. Right wing nuts hate this book because it makes fun of society and religon, not because it is racist. Society is absurd as is religon, which is why this book makes so many uncomfortable. Plus Twain is one of the funniest men who ever lived.

Theo B. like many of the thick headed, literal minded critics of the novel you have completely missed the point of it, ever heard of a word called SATIRE? if you have then you would know that's what mark twain uses throughout the novel to depict how hypocritcal society is and to condemn slavery. Please don't make the mistake of confusing Huck's views and perceptions with those of Mark Twain's, who did not condone slavery, and who praised abolitionists.

I enjoyed the book, but I felt like the last couple of chapters were rambling. Still, the depiction of human nature is amazing and it is probably one of the top five American novels.

ugh. i didnt want to read some of the comments on here about this novel. boring overrated racist i know the words before i looked. say what you will but this is a masterwork of American Fiction. maybe the most American of all novels the people of this nation produced. true Twain's use of common racial vernacular can make for a testy reading in your modern day literature clases, but if you dont understand the times you are doomed to repeat them. But what about the emotional impact? the story of being unwanted and outside society. a true road novel before Kerouac even breathed, only it takes place on the mightiest stretch of water we have in this nation. i guess that's it. most people in this world, blinded by striving for inclusion, could never see what rests in Twain's book, what is at stake for both Huck and Jim in the society they live in.

I LOVED it. The book is great. I, as a high-school sophomore in the pretigious IB program, don't see anything wrong with the piece of literature for it to be banned. It teaches character, and mocks a lot of the norms society has today. What ever happened to freedom of speech? Put Huck Finn back in our schools!

Considering the year this book was originally published, it is really upbeat and fun ! I haven't had the chance to read it as of late, but I look forward to it in the future as it never gets old. A must read at least once !

Boring, overrated nonsense.

A great book. Generally the ignorant and illiterate attempt to have it removed from school libraries and reading lists--sometimes for the "n" word but just as often for, shall we say, Twain's less-than-reverent attitude towards Christianity. (Don't miss the hilarious part on the theological problem of "preforeordestination.") Those who don't like the "n" word (if they are able to read at all) should read the moving scene with Huck and Jim on the river, where Huck has this moral crisis: Huck knows that he should do the "right" thing and turn Jim in, for he is an escaped slave; but since he loves and is devoted to his friend Jim, he decides he would rather do the "wrong" thing and go to Hell, rather than abandon his friend. Huck Finn is one of the best novels ever written in America. Five glowing stars.

A must read for any pre-teen. I used to listen to the tape of this book over and over again when I was younger.

This was the first book I ever read cover to cover. It is to Twain that I owe my love of literature. If you ever want to get a child 11 years or older into reading, this is the perfect book!

I've lost count of how many times I have read this book. Mark Twain was a profane man in real life, but a gifted writer, and Huckleberry Finn was his best product. The various dialects are a delight from beginning to end. My favorite part was the evening Pap's father got drunk in the cabin and start ranting and kicking things around. I don't think anything in any other book has made me laugh that hard.

This is my favorite novel. Mark Twain's humor is so timeless I can totally relate to it over a hundred years later. A lot of worthy classic books take a lot of discipline to read, but this one is so entertaining that it's easy. His style is so detailed it makes me feel like I'm living in the time and place he is writing about. Since he's a first hand witness I must be getting well educated! Tom Sawyer, also a good one, should be read first, but Huck Finn is even better.

Sure it may be classic, but it's just too outdated and boring for someone like me. Mark Twain just really bothers me with his stories.

First off, I love this book! I'm not really sure exactly what aspect of it I like the best, although if I had to choose, it would be a close contest between the way Mark Twain switches between various dialects in his writing, according to whose perspective he is writing from, and his masterful social satire. I especially liked the encounter with the "nobles," the lying, theiving charlatans.

Easy reading but subtle insightful comments makes this book ideal for both school and pleasure reading. The heavy issue of slavery balances the naive point of view (and thus humorous) Huck Finn has, makes a well rounded novel. It was neat to compare what I got out of it as a child and what I got out of it as a young adult.

One of the most over-rated pieces of Western trash, this document of racist ideology and misguided youth should be tossed aside rather than embraced, as it often is. It teaches intolerance and irresponsibility by romanticizing both.

This book is an awesome book for high school kids to read and discuss. It's got adventure, scandles, and contraversy topics. The 'nigger' word is said a lot, but the pompous asses who run this state need to get over it. In the times it was written (and even now) African Americans sometimes refer to themselves this way.

A classic piece that has become modern day controversial due to some schools bans, because of language concerning blacks in the South during the set time period. A must read for anybody that finds southern diction hilarious regardless of race!

This novel is one of the greats in American literature. It expresses Twain's personal protest against slavery and bigotry. It also talks of the violence and idiocy of southern family feuds.

A traveling tale told from a boy's point of view. If you like Mark Twain, then you'll love Huckleberry Finn. The mix of adventure and humor are beyond compare.

Wondeful book, the only problem is the author's disillusionment with society becomes too apparent as the book slows down on the river. Due to this the book suffers.

I really loved the book. It shows a real picture of America at that time. I love all the adventures Huck Finn encounters.

This story brings the child out in people. You don't have to give up on adventure. It happens every day, in many ways. It teaches you about friendship, with all ages and races. This story warms your heart.

Picks up where Tom Sawyer left off. Liked the dialect, and Mark Twain's keen insights into human nature. The more times read, the better the understanding.

Highly entertaining. Twain has a keen sense of humour

Huck Finn is the great American novel. It represents all that this nation was founded on, and all that makes this nation great.

Some parts are so dull I wanted to throw the book out the window. It didn't really say much to me about anything. I cannot understand why it's considered to be so great by so many people.

Samuel Clemens is not a favorite-the children's story book adventure is not for everyone.