Like many people growing up in the US, I read THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN as an obligatory assignment at school. No one likes obligatory reading, and it was like water off a duck's back. Regretting that I remembered nothing of the novel, I recently re-read it, and I found it entertaining reading, and also much more for a grown-up audience than I expected. Of course the book was only started as a sequel to Twain's novel for boys THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER before being turned towards much more serious themes, such as child abuse and the conflicts in antebellum southern society. But even much of the novel's humour is intended for older readers, requiring some knowledge of European history and of Shakespeare.

The book's status as one of the Great American Novels is curious when it paints so bleak a picture of America. Any signs of refined culture among these inhabitants of the Mississippi comes not even for the East Coast but from Europe. For all of Twain's love of the land--indeed, the Mississippi River is itself a character--he was clearly a cosmopolitan figure by this point. Or perhaps the praise of America is subtle, as it is a portrait of a land free of aristocracy (the characters who call themselves the "king" and "duke" are scoundrels), and the novel is written in the honest vernacular of country people.

The novel cannot in any way be considered a perfect work of literature when it is an arc that soars towards quality only in the middle. The opening pages are still in the realm of children's literature, while the final section reads as a tiresome parody with far too much serendipity to be believable. For that reason I've rated it four stars.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a book that I remembered fondly from my childhood that actually holds up to another reading as an adult. Twain's wit and humor still carry the story for me as when I was a child, however, this time around, I was better able to appreciate the social and political commentary infused throughout the story. That's the magic of Twain's masterpiece: it's attraction to both young and old for both the same and different facets. For the young, this is a rollicking adventure story of an ornery youth and his escaped slave friend. It's the classic buddy tale infused with humor and narrow escapes. For the adult, There are the deeper layers of Huck's constant struggle with his own inner morality versus the popular opinion of what is considered to be right in the eyes of whites in the pre-civil war Mississippi River area.

For a great escape and a look into the culture of the central United States just prior to the Civil War, I highly recommend Huckleberry Finn for all audiences.

A set text in Yr 11 English, this book has become a favourite of mine. A grand adventure, with some great observations of society -- and people in general.

This one's for Huckleberry Finn. I first read this is high school and forgot everything about it a month later. A while back I read it again and now my memory is much better. This is about the travels of the boy Huck Finn down or up the Mississippi River with a slave named Jim. Huck had previously escaped from his drunkard father and from "civilized" society as well. The book chronicles their travels and the many adventures that ensue. Mark Twain was a supremely talented writer and uses his skills in an impressive way here. The attention to detail is astonishing and I felt like I was right there with the protagonists every step of the way. There is also a great deal of humor as is to be expected to Twain. And also, there is an uplifting message about the nature of racisim towards the end that could be said to be the cenral theme of the novel. Now that's what was good, so what was bad? Well, Twain goes on and on about boring minutae many times throughout this thing. Two characters named the Duke and King (I think) are introduced and are basically criminals. Almost to a letter they are boring every time mentioned, but I wouldn't call them filler though, I just didn't get into them. They get Huck and Jim into all sorts of trouble and meet their end in time. Other than the long-windedness there isn't much wrong with this novel. Alot of people have said that this is the best ever novel by an American writer, but I don't agree. Oh, one more thing. There is a certain word tossed about quite often here that some people find offensive. I won't mention it here, but most people will be able to guess what it is. Get over it people, It's just the language of the times. I'm someone who could choose to be personally offended by that word in this book but can look past it to see what Twain was doing. If you can't do that then you'll be missing out on the novel's greater message of tolerance and understanding and doing yourself a disservice in the long run. This novel is definitely one of the best ever written and deserves a go by every man woman and child.

We have a classroom set of an old favorite. This was for the student who would have trouble reading on his on or for the class to listen to certain parts of the book read to them.