Product Description

Huckleberry Finn had a tough life with his drunk father until an adventure with Tom Sawyer changed everything. But when Huck's dad returns and kidnaps him, he must escape down the Mississippi river with runaway slave, Jim. They encounter trouble at every turn, from floods and gunfights to armed bandits and the long arm of the law. Through it all the friends stick together - but can Huck and Tom free Jim from slavery once and for all? With an inspirational introduction by Darren Shan, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is one of the twelve wonderful classic stories being relaunched in "Puffin Classics" in March 2008.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23258 in Books
• Published on: 2008-03-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 480 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780141321097
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

About the Author
Darren Shan is the author of the Cirque du Freak and Demonata series.

Customer Reviews

Mark Twain's Classic, if Problematic, Adventure Tale
My daughter's fourth-grade reading teacher urged that parents continue the practice of reading to their children, and specifically recommended ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN. It had been some 35-40 years since I had read the work myself, and so I relished the opportunity to read it again with my daughter.

For those who have just arrived from another planet, HUCK FINN is 19th-century humor writer Mark Twain's episodic adventure tale about a good-hearted young rustic named Huckleberry Finn, who boldly and ingeniously escapes the abusive treatment of his father and sets off on a raft down the Mississippi River. Almost immediately, he is joined by a runaway slave of his previous acquaintance named Jim. The greater part of this lengthy novel consists of the various adventures they experience on the River, including an encounter with thieves aboard a sinking steamship, an escape from a bloody family feud, and, most prominently, various scrapes in the company of a couple of ne'er-do-wells who wish to be treated by Jim and Huck as the Duke of Bridgewater and the King of England. The novel is written as a sequel of sorts to THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER, but can be read independently of it.

Two things stood out for me in reading HUCK FINN aloud; with respect to the language, the racial epithets and Twain's masterful attention to dialect. Let me start with the second: reading this story aloud really helps one appreciate the dialects that Mark Twain captures in the novel. Certainly, Jim's dialect is different from Huck's, but with careful attention to the language one will also notice the distinctive dialects of the other prominent characters such as the Duke and King. The first thing that stood out for me is how uncomfortable I was reading a literary work--even a classic such as this one--that liberally uses the "N" word and heaps other abuse on African Americans.

This is one reason the book is banned by many libraries. In reading HUCK FINN with my daughter, however, I found that the story could be both a literary experience and a teaching tool. We could and did discuss the terrible power of words to hurt people, as well as the treatment of slaves in 19th-century America. Also, over the course of the novel, Huck Finn comes to see the humanity in Jim and sees him as a friend. Still, the novel doesn't entirely justify itself on those grounds, particularly after the humiliating treatment Jim experiences in the final chapters. Moreover, one might argue that, at least in parts of the story, Jim comes off as a racial caricature.

Thus the novel does pose a challenge to the reflective and concerned parent. HUCK FINN is no doubt a masterpiece of fiction. It is, moreover, a humorous and sometimes moving adventure story (albeit one that moves at a deliberate pace compared to 21st-century YA fiction). Nonetheless, with respect to the racism that is pervasive in the novel, in reading this story to children one should be prepared to talk about its underlying social problems in the light of American history and contemporary mores.

My daughter and I read this edition (Puffin Classics). It is a conveniently sized book that does not stint on font size to create a small format paperback. It would not be the edition I would choose permanently to grace one's library, but it is an excellent choice for children.

Mark Twain - Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Many individuals totally ignorant of the nation's history are quick to censor or
delete portions of any work that seems to be politically incorrect by contemporary standards. Since these individuals are rather intellectually shallow and victims of schools steeped in censorship of things seemingly unpalatable to certain minority segments of society; they should indeed NOT read the book and move on to some modern sitcom Gerber formula reading that falls within their limited social horizons.They should also avoid books on the Holocaust, Annihilation of Indian Tribes in CONUS, and Treatment of women in Muslim Countries as they will find these subjects ripe with politically incorrect language and actions. True History is not for Wimps or Sissies, Male of Female or other!

Never happened before.....
I have never written a bad review on amazon because it is the most reliable vendor ever. Unfortunately, this edition of Huck Finn is a total failure - the pages just fell out of the book when I was only halfway through. The cover catches your eye, but choose another publisher to enjoy this classic.