[.ca] Penguin Classics Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn (ISBN 0140430180)

From Amazon.com:
A seminal work of American Literature that still commands deep praise and still elicits controversy, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is essential to the understanding of the American soul. The recent discovery of the first half of Twain's manuscript, long thought lost, made front-page news. And this unprecedented edition, which contains for the first time omitted episodes and other variations present in the first half of the handwritten manuscript, as well as facsimile reproductions of thirty manuscript pages, is indispensable to a full understanding of the novel. The changes, deletions, and additions made in the first half of the manuscript indicate that Mark Twain frequently checked his impulse to write an even darker, more confrontational book than the one he finally published.

An American classic that must be read by all (and never banned):
If there's any book out there that needs no introduction (or review, to be honest), it's Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Yet here I am reviewing it, anyway. I must admit (not without a fair share of embarrassment) that I just now got around to reading this American classic for the first time. I never had to read it in school, and to some degree I felt pretty familiar with the novel even without having read it -- that's just how popular and important Huckleberry Finn is to the social fabric of America. Nowadays, with all the politically correct liberals having escaped their Berkeley zoo and run amuck all over the nation, many of our young people are told not to read this novel. In fact, legions of voices cry out for poor little Huck Finn, that beloved rascal of literature, to be banned from schools and libraries -- for the crime of using the n-word, a word commonly used by both blacks and whites up and down the Mississippi during Huck's time (not to mention numerous hip-hop artists of today). Turning a blind eye to the fact that Twain made the slave Jim a noble, human, easy-going fellow with his heart always in the right place (unlike Huck's other companions), the literary fascists contend that this novel is poison to the minds of youngsters. One can only imagine the reaction Mark Twain would have to the hysteria his book incites in liberals today (although he would certainly not be surprised, as he had to fight censorship of this book from the date of its publication). One of the great ironies of the "Ban Huck Finn" brouhaha is the fact that young people will surely find this novel much more entertaining than the vast majority of other literary classics they are asked to read. This is a very funny book, especially once "the duke and the dauphin" arrive on the scene and, later, when Tom Sawyer meticulously plans out Jim's rescue from captivity (no thanks to the captors, who didn't even try to make it as difficult as Tom says it should be). Young readers will also relate to and understand this book, a fact which should give rise to spirited discussion of it in class. Don't we want our kids to be excited about books and reading? The more outrageous the hissy fits thrown by liberal critics over the "dangers" of Huck Finn, the more important it is for everyone, young and old alike, to go out and read Twain's novel. Whenever someone tells you not to read something, it's important that you go out there and read it -- and discover whatever it is the book banning loonies don't want you to know. Prove to them that you are intelligent enough to know the difference between the social values of the past and present, fiction and reality, right and wrong, etc. Think for yourself. Read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Amazing Adventure Story:
Huckleberry Finn is a great book! It's an adventure book by Mark Twain. The story takes place in Huck's hometown of Petersburg, Missouri. This took place in the mid-1800's when slavery was still legal in the southern states. The story really begins when Huck runs away from the widow and his drunken father. Huck decides to run away and start a new life without listening to the widow's grown-up rules. He also wants to avoid being mugged by his father and locked up in a shed constantly. There are two main characters in this book: Huckleberry Finn and Jim. Huckleberry is the boy who escapes his life and Jim is the widow's slave. Huckleberry found Jim on the island he went to when he escaped from his evil stepfather. My opinion is that it's a great adventure book and he has some travels in the story to remote islands and St. Louis, Missouri. Even though it is a great novel there are some other parts in this book that tend to become violent, so the reader should be at least ten years old or more. If I had to rate this book I'd give it 9 stars out of 10. It could have been a 10 if the author but some more clear details about some conclusions for the characters. Example: Who and what happened to the murderers on the steamboat? I would have liked to know how Huck's father died at the end of this novel. This book is great if you're looking for adventures about runaway kids or just exploring and being on your own. The added bonus in this book is that if you know the character known as Tom Sawyer from The Adventure's of Tom Sawyer, he is in this book too! Huckleberry Finn is a great book! It's an adventure book by Mark Twain. The story takes place in Huck's hometown of Petersburg, Missouri. This took place in the mid-1800's when slavery was still legal in the southern states. The story really begins when Huck runs away from the widow and his drunken father. Huck decides to run away and start a new life without listening to the widow's grown-up rules. He also wants to avoid being mugged by his father and locked up in a shed constantly. There are two main characters in this book: Huckleberry Finn and Jim. Huckleberry is the boy who escapes his life and Jim is the widow's slave. Huckleberry found Jim on the island he went to when he escaped from his evil stepfather. My opinion is that it's a great adventure book and he has some travels in the story to remote islands and St. Louis, Missouri. Even though it is a great novel there are some other parts in this book that tend to become violent, so the reader should be at least ten years old or more. If I had to rate this book I'd give it 9 stars out of 10. It could have been a 10 if the author but some more clear details about some conclusions for the characters. Example: Who and what happened to the murderers on the steamboat? I would have liked to know how Huck's father died at the end of this novel. This book is great if you're looking for adventures about runaway kids or just exploring and being on your own. The added bonus in this book is that if you know the character known as Tom Sawyer from The Adventure's of Tom Sawyer, he is in this book too!

Oy vey...:
Okay, I didn't really care for this book. It seemed dull and pointless, not to mention the plot was very vague. From what I could understand, it just seemed totally random. Not to mention it's hard to understand!

Huck Finn is da bomb:
So many coming of age books owe a debt of thanks to HUCK FINN. Salinger's CATCHER IN THE RYE is one, along with the more modern BARK OF THE DOGWOOD. There are others, but the first true one was HUCK. The genius of Mark Twain is that the entire story is conceptualized and told from the perspective of 13-14 year old orphan boy, with almost no formal education at all. The telling of the tale gets a bit complicated if we look at the use, or in this case, misuse of the English language. Ahead of its time, STILL, this is good solid American reading. Would also recommend the collection of short stories titled THE CHILDREN'S CORNER for some excellent reading. Cheers!

Great story, but...:
...the dialect is irritating. On one hand, I can't deny that the dialect adds character to the first-person narrative, and is, in that respect, functional. On the other hand, it's *irritating*! I had to re-read countless sentences because of it. I can only imagine what reading this book must be like for someone who's first language isn't English. The story itself is great, though. I can see why it's a classic. It's filled with endearing characters and adventures, and it's a very important book as it focuses on the issues of slavery and the irony of a so-called "civilization" that keeps slaves. A great read, dialect aside.