The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was more enjoyable to read on my own then it was to read for school. Huck definitely has a original imagination to get them through all the hijinks they go through.

I felt that by the Tom Sawyer showed up the book could and probably should have ended. Many of the people in the town were pretty gullible to believe Huck, Tom and other characters like the Duke or King.

An Interesting read. Not sure I understand why it is a classic except that is by Mark Twain. I could see the authors humor throughout the book, which he was known for.




Terry Turner (USA: OH) (2022/12/20):
In Mark Twain's time, "great American novelist" was almost a comical phrase; there essentially weren't any. If for no other reason, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" became a deserved classic, truly a hallmark of early American fiction writing.

The book is one of the most-often 'banned' texts in American history, mainly for its frank use of the vernacular of the antebellum South, which is the story's setting from beginning to end. One might wonder what the critics expect that Twain might have substituted for the patois of the time. And one might consider that the Holy Bible is also one of the most banned books in human history. Book banners will likely be with us for the duration, I fear.

Many critics opine that Twain might have ended the story long before he did. I agree. From the point where Tom Sawyer re-enters the narrative, it all runs downhill, and the ending is less than satisfying. Even given that, however, the first two-thirds of the novel contains a continuous series of rollicking adventures, told in the first person, blow by blow. It is a marvelous journey.

There are fewer than a hundred books I've read more than twice. I've probably joined Huck and Jim on that raft on the Mississippi River at least a half dozen times, and I'll be back for another ride soon enough.