Wednesday, September 04, 2013
Life on the Mississippi
Thursday, January 05, 2012
Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer Among the Indians
by Mark Twain
This is definitely a tome meant for Mark Twain geeks. 'Tis a bunch of unfinished tales, backed up with pages and pages of notes. It was enjoyable to read, because, after all, it's Mark Twain. But overall I can't imagine anyone but a serious scholar wanting to hang onto the book.
'Tis waiting room material.
LibraryThing link
This is definitely a tome meant for Mark Twain geeks. 'Tis a bunch of unfinished tales, backed up with pages and pages of notes. It was enjoyable to read, because, after all, it's Mark Twain. But overall I can't imagine anyone but a serious scholar wanting to hang onto the book.
'Tis waiting room material.
LibraryThing link
Labels: MarkTwain, WaitingRoomMaterial
Monday, February 22, 2010
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Saturday, March 22, 2008
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
by Mark Twain
Y'know, when reviewing a classic like this one, I feel a bit like I should be writing a more substantial essay. You know, something like how Tom fulfills the mythological role of the "Trickster" archetype, or analyzing the interpersonal dynamics between Aunt Polly and her adopted children, or something like that. Of course, I don't have that kind of time, not when I seem to be finishing another For Better or For Worse collection every few days or so and have next month's book club reads ahead of me. So I'll simply say that Tom Sawyer is a boy growing up in antebellum Missouri and his adventures are the type one might expect a young boy of that time to have, save that Tom really is a trickster and will outsmart other folks, more often than not. But that's not a bad thing. I tended to root for Tom, rather than start building up a jealous resentment of him. Mr. Twain painted such a human character that I was able to relate to Tom even though I would never have been able to figure out how to get out of whitewashing the fence or get Becky Thatcher to notice me. It's great stuff.
I have to keep it my shelf--it's a classic!
LibraryThing link
Y'know, when reviewing a classic like this one, I feel a bit like I should be writing a more substantial essay. You know, something like how Tom fulfills the mythological role of the "Trickster" archetype, or analyzing the interpersonal dynamics between Aunt Polly and her adopted children, or something like that. Of course, I don't have that kind of time, not when I seem to be finishing another For Better or For Worse collection every few days or so and have next month's book club reads ahead of me. So I'll simply say that Tom Sawyer is a boy growing up in antebellum Missouri and his adventures are the type one might expect a young boy of that time to have, save that Tom really is a trickster and will outsmart other folks, more often than not. But that's not a bad thing. I tended to root for Tom, rather than start building up a jealous resentment of him. Mr. Twain painted such a human character that I was able to relate to Tom even though I would never have been able to figure out how to get out of whitewashing the fence or get Becky Thatcher to notice me. It's great stuff.
I have to keep it my shelf--it's a classic!
LibraryThing link
Friday, March 29, 2002
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain
Like I was telling the boys at the Grace CyberCafe Message Board, I read Huck Finn years ago, when I was a boy, and finally got around to rereading it now that I'm a bit older and wiser. I never really enjoyed it much as a young'un, but now I think it's just great. What more can I say? It's funny, engaging and makes one question the status quo. We put it on our shelf in an attempt to get a nice library of children's books, but I'm keeping it there for my own entertainment.
LibraryThing link
Like I was telling the boys at the Grace CyberCafe Message Board, I read Huck Finn years ago, when I was a boy, and finally got around to rereading it now that I'm a bit older and wiser. I never really enjoyed it much as a young'un, but now I think it's just great. What more can I say? It's funny, engaging and makes one question the status quo. We put it on our shelf in an attempt to get a nice library of children's books, but I'm keeping it there for my own entertainment.
LibraryThing link
Saturday, January 19, 2002
The Innocents Abroad, Volume 1
by Mark Twain
Occasionally I get tempted enough to read a real classic. In this case the temptation arose from PBS. Years ago, I saw part of a TV movie based on this book, an account of a European trip taken by Mr. Clemens (the real name of Mark Twain, for those of you who haven't had high school English) in 1867. I told myself then that I should either see the whole movie or read the book. Then, a few weeks ago, I saw a bit of Ken Burns' documentary on Mark Twain and decided it was time to crack open The Innocents Abroad. So I went down to the library and reserved it on the computer. Days passed, I got notice that my book was in and I went down to the neighborhood branch and came home with... a videotape of the TV movie. Guess I didn't look at the computer too closely. Well, I enjoyed the film in its entirety, noting a few scenes which seemed to be modern inventions, and then returned to the library to get the right item. I almost succeeded. I managed to check out Volume one of The Innocents Abroad. SIGH! Well, Volume 1, at least is great. I found out that a great deal of the teleplay has been altered. I can't fuss too much over it, because I'm sure Brooke Adams is more interesting too watch than whomever they might get to play the man who actually hung out with Mr. Clemens and the doctor on their excursion. But like almost any cinematic adaption, the book (or at least its foremost volume) is far superior. I love seeing the world through another's eyes and Mr. Clemens is a master of describing what he sees -- praising the magnificent and mocking the overblown. (We may sometimes disagree on what deserves praise or criticism, but I have a high degree of tolerance for my opponents if they're entertaining enough.) If I ever mange to find this at a library sale, I will definitely put it on my shelf. Assuming volume two doesn't degenerate into wothless dreck...
UPDATE: It didn't.
LibraryThing link
Occasionally I get tempted enough to read a real classic. In this case the temptation arose from PBS. Years ago, I saw part of a TV movie based on this book, an account of a European trip taken by Mr. Clemens (the real name of Mark Twain, for those of you who haven't had high school English) in 1867. I told myself then that I should either see the whole movie or read the book. Then, a few weeks ago, I saw a bit of Ken Burns' documentary on Mark Twain and decided it was time to crack open The Innocents Abroad. So I went down to the library and reserved it on the computer. Days passed, I got notice that my book was in and I went down to the neighborhood branch and came home with... a videotape of the TV movie. Guess I didn't look at the computer too closely. Well, I enjoyed the film in its entirety, noting a few scenes which seemed to be modern inventions, and then returned to the library to get the right item. I almost succeeded. I managed to check out Volume one of The Innocents Abroad. SIGH! Well, Volume 1, at least is great. I found out that a great deal of the teleplay has been altered. I can't fuss too much over it, because I'm sure Brooke Adams is more interesting too watch than whomever they might get to play the man who actually hung out with Mr. Clemens and the doctor on their excursion. But like almost any cinematic adaption, the book (or at least its foremost volume) is far superior. I love seeing the world through another's eyes and Mr. Clemens is a master of describing what he sees -- praising the magnificent and mocking the overblown. (We may sometimes disagree on what deserves praise or criticism, but I have a high degree of tolerance for my opponents if they're entertaining enough.) If I ever mange to find this at a library sale, I will definitely put it on my shelf. Assuming volume two doesn't degenerate into wothless dreck...
UPDATE: It didn't.
LibraryThing link
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