The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Well, I finally read this classic (in full)! Check this off my “To-Read” list! Haha! 😆 I really hadn’t read this story before now (not the “unabridged version”, at least; I read an abridged one when I was a kid (with pictures)), so I’m happy to have finally “picked it up” & I’m glad I did before going on to read/listen to the new novel, “James” by Percival Everett; I had actually started to read/listen to that one 1st for my book club, but then figured I should really read/listen to ‘Huck Finn’ 1st since it’s not very long & since I hadn’t read the “full” version yet. And I’m happy I did! Now I can go back to reading/listening to “James” tomorrow! 😁 I DID like it; Huck Finn was a very funny kid at some point! I especially liked how in the end, Huck says something like, “If I’d known how much trouble writing was gonna be, I’d never would have started in the1st place!” & I was like, “Yep, Huck. Facts. That’s what I imagine most writers think that at times, too; I know I do sometimes!” (I write a little bit of Fan-Fic here and there myself sometimes.) I highlighted that sentence in my Kindle version b/c it’s SO true sometimes! 😅 However, that being said, I still like ‘Tom Sawyer’ better (& yes, I have read/listen to the “full version” of ‘Tom Sawyer’). I just think that ‘Tom Sawyer is a much more “fun” read, if that makes sense & ‘Huck Finn’ is a little more on the serious side side of things, which I can FULLY understand why it makes it more “critically acclaimed”. But that’s just MY opinion (hence, me giving it just 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️)! 🥹 However, the AUDIO of the Audible version wasn’t the greatest, sadly (which is why I only gave the “Performance” 1 star ⭐️ 🥺) . . . I could BARELY understand the “voice” of Jim when he was talking (as well as some other adult male characters, too) & if I hadn’t had the Kindle version to “read-along” with, I bet I’d have NOT understood A word of Jim “talking” (& the other male adults, too) . . . It honestly kinda sounded like he (the “reader”) was moving away from the mic at times & not speaking very clearly into it, which for an audiobook released in 2025 (I DID look up the release date before typing up this review), I don’t understand why the audio is NOT better!! 😒 I had the same thing happen with ‘Little Women’ recently . . . The audiobook was HORRIBLE to listen to . . . It’s like Audible doesn’t care enough about the “Classics” to produce GOOD audiobooks of them, which is really a shame!! Audible, PLEASE do better with the “Classics”!! 🙄🙏🏻 But, anyway, that’s my review of ‘Huck Finn’; back to “James” tomorrow! 😁

I really wanted to read James and reasoned I should first read Huckleberry Finn, upon which it is based. The book, James, tells the same story, but through the eyes of Jim, the slave.I highly recommend reading both books in this order.Huckleberry Finn was an uncomfortable read due to use of the N-word and some lengthy tales of entanglement with a pair of grifters. What was most memorable to me was Huck's gradual enlightenment through his relationship with Jim.

I hadn't read Huckleberry Finn since junior high decades ago and wanted to reread it before reading James. I was glad I did. I had completely forgotten so many aspects of the story, gripping in parts, and its effective satire of the society, institutions that perpetuated slavery.

Awesome purchase. Not expensive!!!!

I first read this in 6th grade and am enjoying Mark Twains writing again.