a book

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Name: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Rating: 5 (14 reviews)
Author: Mark Twain
ISBN: 9780486280615

Mark Twain · 2002 · 220 pages

Hilariously picaresque, epic in scope, alive with the poetry and vigor of the American people, Mark Twain's story about a young boy and his journey down the Mississippi was the first great novel to speak in a truly American voice. Influencing subsequent generations of writers -- from Sherwood Anderson to Twain's fellow Missourian, T.S. Eliot, from Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner to J.D. Salinger -- "Huckleberry Finn," like the river which flows through its pages, is one of the great sources which nourished and still nourishes the literature of America.

recommended by 14 people

sourced from public statements

Dick Cavett
“This was the start of a lifelong addiction to Twain. A must-read, at least annually, for every man, woman, and bright child. To flaming hell with any idiot who wants to bowdlerize this towering masterpiece.”↗
Suzanne Vega
“The classic story of a wild child on the outskirts of rural society with an absent mother and wayward father, and the trials he endures. I feel for Huck as I never do for Tom Sawyer, who is more civilized. A portrait of America at a moment in time which is still relevant today.”↗
Bob Odenkirk
“Do I need to waste your time telling you this is the book of books? Sorry about the N-word, but it must be taken in the context of the time it was written. Plus it’s clear to me that Twain was making a strong (and sly) statement about the humanity of those who were then labeled the N-word.”↗
Bradley Cooper
“What can I say? I remember reading it in school, and it was one of the first books that made me realize I loved reading. There’s something about traveling down the river—the flow—and how he made me see and smell the environment. It really transported me to a different time.”↗
Owen Wilson
“I love the part where Huck and Jim get separated on the raft. There’s a storm and now the storm’s kind of over, and it’s still not quite dawn, and Huck gets back on the raft, and then decides that he’s going to play a joke on Jim as it gets light. Jim’s like, ‘My God, you’re here, you’re back!’ And Huck’s like, ‘What are you talking about?’ And he’s like, ‘We got separated,’ and Huck’s like, ‘I’ve been here the whole night – you must have had a dream.’ And he’s like, ‘How could I dream all of that?’ And he’s like, ‘Well you did because I’ve been here.’ And he’s like, ‘That’s the most powerful dream I’ve ever had, cause it was SO REAL!’ And when he finds out Huck tricked him, he says that great things to Huck that’s just very powerful. He says, ‘I’m going to tell you what it means – it means this whole time when we were separated I was just so sad… and all you were thinking about was playing a trick on Jim.'”↗
Harold Bloom
“The other crucial American epic. Huck is admirable, astonishingly wise, and always open to the suffering of others. Nothing in American literature has quite the majesty and serenity of the life Huck and Jim live on the raft carrying them down the Mississippi River.”↗
Harry Khachatrian
“I’ve read all of these, they’re all great books”↗
Richard Branson
Daniel Pink
Walter Isaacson
Ernest Hemingway
Robert McCrum
Nathan Wolff
Lawrence Buell