A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court - Mark Twain

 

Another one of those books left on the doorstep of a Rotherhithe apartment block. 

Of the three Mark Twain novels I read, this was by far the least interesting. Not as funny as Tom Sawyer, not as thoguht-provoking at Huckleberry Finn. 

And while Mark Twain also has problematic elements (race, colonialism, politics - you name it!) this one almost had me scream "stop patronizing the rest of the world and other eras, you self-indulgent, self-absorbed and self-centred American bore". 

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain

A book that I’ve had on my shelf for ages (clearly!). And, to be honest, had I also owned a copy of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer I would have probably started with that (which would have been a bad call, considering that I quickly came to dislike Tom Sawyer in this novel).

Am I at ease with the way in which Jim is portrayed? Not always.

Do I think Huckleberry really escapes civilization? Not fully, just see so many of his moral dilemmas regarding Jim’s future (and past).

Do I think this is a work of art? Absolutely.

Huckleberry Finn combines the sense of adventure of the best Verne, Stevenson and Conan Doyle with what is ultimately a great moral depth (sure, so many of the comments on slavery make – and well they should! – people cringe, but it’s undeniably a step in the right direction for late-19^th century white Americans).

But, to go back to my first few lines, I honestly disliked Tom Sawyer a lot – and I think that all the ordeals he made Jim go through in the last few chapters were just too mean, gratuitous and so not funny. So, despite liking Huckleberry Finn so very much I am not going to read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer anytime soon…