The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Written by Mark Twain
Narrated by Matt Armstrong
4/5
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About this audiobook
One of the most enduring American novels of all time, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn follows the adventures of Huck Finn and a runaway slave named Jim as they travel down the Mississippi river on a raft--all in order to help Jim win his freedom from slavery.
Told in Twain's unique style, Huck Finn's story is one of the greatest tales of love, respect, and human decency, told through the eyes of an unlearned, but big-hearted, boy.
An Open Book audio production.
Mark Twain
Mark Twain, born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in 1835, left school at age 12. His career encompassed such varied occupations as printer, Mississippi riverboat pilot, journalist, travel writer, and publisher, which furnished him with a wide knowledge of humanity and the perfect grasp of local customs and speech manifested in his writing. It wasn't until The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), that he was recognized by the literary establishment as one of the greatest writers America would ever produce. Toward the end of his life, plagued by personal tragedy and financial failure, Twain grew more and more cynical and pessimistic. Though his fame continued to widen--Yale and Oxford awarded him honorary degrees--he spent his last years in gloom and desperation, but he lives on in American letters as "the Lincoln of our literature."
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Reviews for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
9,804 ratings335 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I am adding this book as one of our family read-alouds. While often read by high school students as "classic" literature, this book proved a hit with my family audience, ages 8, 14,17 and middle aged.
It is funny and suspenseful and the characters are vivid, all requirements for making it on our read aloud picks.1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My dad read this book to me as a kid and I loved it. I had the best time re-reading it as an adult - remembering parts of the dialogue I knew by heart and enjoying the social satire bits that don't always register when you're a kid. A classic!
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The unabridged version, though racist and somewhat ignorant, looses the charm of the characters when edited. This book is an accurate reflection of an awkward time in the youth of our nation, and rather than glossed over, needs to be appreciated as such. We have come a long way!
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I had never read the Adventures of Tom Sawyer except in a childhood version in Golden Books or something like that. I skipped right over to read Huck Finn. While this is definitely a children's book in many ways, Twain writes in such a way that adults still enjoy Tom and his picaresque adventures, both as nostalgia for our own childhoods and because the adult voice of Twain cannot help inserting his snide commentaries on humanity.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One of the books that I thought I had read but hadn't. It rushes along, adventure after adventure, capturing what it is is to be a child growing up.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I liked it much better the second time. Mark Twain has an amazing writing style. Definitely recommend.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I understand that this book was considered The Great American Novel for it's time period, but it didn't resonate with me. Part of it was the character of Huck, part of it was the seemingly scattershot nature of his adventures on the Mississippi River (it certainly wasn't the language, I have no problem with that in this or any other book), but by the time the story got to the fued between the Grangerfords and the Shepardsons, I had checked out of the story. The rest was one of the toughest slogs I've ever had to get through in reading. (Each time it was for a class assignment--the last time was to see if I had the wrong idea about the book,. I wasn't) I won't be reading it again.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is the Twain work most writers of the 20th century claim is THE American novel. I would rather place "Tom Sawyer" in that spot, but there are underlying social issues in "Huckleberry," not the least of which is the constant use of the word "nigger." This has caused the book to be censored by many a school district.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This started well and the first few chapters read like a direct continuation of Tom Sawyer, which I really enjoyed. But I did not find the subsequent adventures of Huck Finn engrossing beyond a few humorous touches; the one positive was the friendship between Huck and the runaway slave Jim, but after they fell in with a pair of eccentrics who thought they were royalty/nobility, my interest waned and I gave up just over half way through. 3/5
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5At first I felt the ending was flawed, agreeing with some of Twain's critics. However, after reflection, I believe it is exactly the right ending for this book.
Without the ending, the story would revert to more romantic prose: white boy learns his lesson about slavery and becomes a better person for it. Such an ending, I believe, would have undermined Twain's purpose in writing The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In actuality, the ending gives earlier chapters their meaning, showing the difficulty in a person's ability to throw off societal norms. It is his commentary of the influence of society on a person's moral judgment. - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It has lots of adventure and not much trouble about anything else. I think I liked the last five or six chapters most. I wasn't much for some of the chapters with 'the King' and 'the Duke', though, as they sort of blended together and went on a long time.I really liked this particular recording. The narrator does a good job. See the link to the Librivox page at the top for a free download. Also, it's nice to listen to this book so as not to have to translate all the words full of apostrophes into sounds.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I find that adding a review to a classic like this is far more daunting than reviewing other works. Huckleberry Finn may be the Great American Novel; if it is not, then it must be in the top two contenders. Twain's writing is a delight to the senses; the humor still works; the satire still bites. He manages to amuse, inform, and guide us all at once and without making a show of doing so.My only complaint with this edition is the minor editorial liberties taken and the lack of notes and commentary.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Audiobook. The narration was good, but I didn't care all that much for the story. I preferred Tom Sawyer's story to Huck's.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Not near as good a book as Tom Sawyer - but it was still good to revisit this book after all these years ...
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Huck Finn's voyage with Jim holds much significance and is still debated today. Read it and you decide what it means, but I'll say this- this book is about friendship, war, crime, unjustified hate and prejudice, religion and freedom and still manages to stay lighthearted. Worth it.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Argh. Classic. I don't think so. It was horrible, just... I know that I'm supposed to see it as some great book that changed whatever, blah, blah, blah, but I just can't stand it. I didn't mind the Tom Sawyer book, but this one, every time I had to read it in school (more than once, including in eighth grade) I just wanted to scream hated it so much. Give me the Sound and the Fury over this.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Adventures of Tom Sawyer gets better each time I read it, because as I get older (and as I've read more of his writings) I get more of Twain's sly, irreverent humor. The fourth chapter, for example, which finds Tom showing off in Sunday school, is hysterically funny.But besides that, Mark Twain really captures the spirit of childhood in this book. And on top of that, Tom Sawyer is a great adventure story. In some ways it isn't really a "Great novel" with a capital G, and it's not one of my all-time personal favorites, but it is a darn Good one.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One of my favorite Twains
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Cruciaal is de ontmoeting met Huckleberry Finn. Vinnige dialogen; Mooie impressie van jongensachtige gevoelens en leefwereld, genre Witte van Zichem (Claes is duidelijk maar een doordrukje van Twain). Toch maar matig boek.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The first and only time I previously read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was back in middle-school or late elementary school. Since then I've read a lot of Mark Twain's short stories and a few of his novels. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is one of my favorite books and I've read it a pile of times but until now I'd never revisited Tom Sawyer.One of the things I love about Twain's writing is just how real and honest everything feels. Very quickly I felt myself pulled into the world of St. Peterburg. I absolutely love the flow and tone of the language. It's just so fluid and friendly. I love Twain's narrative style as he makes commentary on situations or behaviors. I can almost hear his snarky voice as he satirizes the sanctimonious behavior of some of the adults as set against the devil-may-care (yet very superstitious) attitudes of the children.I vaguely remembered bits of the larger plot of the story but as I was reading I was struck by how much this book is a compilation of shorter stories instead of one single big plot piece. Admittedly there is the overall thread of Tom and Huck and their adventures with Injun Joe, but that particular story thread often goes many chapters completely forgotten, much in the way a child will forget some of their worries and cares as soon as the next big adventure comes along.This book is definitely lighter in tone than Huckleberry Finn. It's not addressing heavy topics like slavery. But it still has plenty of weighty segments alongside the frivolous fun. There are plenty of subtle morality lessons as well as very dramatic scenes. I really enjoyed the tension as Tom and Becky sat in the dark cave watching their candle go out or the suspense as Tom and Huck sat upstairs in the haunted house waiting for Injun Joe to come up the stairs and find them hiding there. These segments were a fun balance to the light hearted adventures of boys playing pirates or whitewashing the fence.While not as outrageous as Huckleberry Finn, there are segments in this book that may be potentially offensive or off-putting to some readers. The boys do observe a grizzly murder, though it isn't described in ghastly turns. There is also a lot of talk about superstition and witchcraft and sneaking out in the middle of the night for special ceremonies for luck or play. Beyond these elements (which are quaintly fun and characteristic of the world at that time and place), the boys also run away from home and spend days cussing and smoking and when they do return home they only get mild chastisement. Tom comments how he's going to impress the other boys by pulling out his pipe and smoking around them. While the behavior doesn't get much more applause than this (and it actually makes him very sick the first time he smokes), it doesn't get particularly villainized either, which could certainly be a cause for shock in some readers. I think as long as the reader understands the context, it shouldn't be a problem. And if a parent or educator is giving this book to a young child to read, it could be a good teaching point.Being a fan of Mark Twain, I certainly have some bias, but I can wholeheartedly recommend this book. I plan on pushing it on my unsuspecting children and hope they enjoy it as much as I do. It's a true pleasure to go romping around with Tom Sawyer and his friends as they get up to adventures and into and out of trouble. If you've read it before, pick it up again and find old friends. And if you've never read it, you should definitely give it a read. It's tons of fun and definitely stands up to the test of time. As a note, there are a lot of Abridged versions out there (presumably to remove some of the potentially offensive segments). Do yourself a favor and read the unabridged version. You don't want to miss any of the fun.*****5 out of 5 stars
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is a classic in American literature. What more can be said.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Miss Hunt's eighth grade English class. Guess what her nickname was?
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Lie at your peril - your guilt can trap you in a cave. A nightmare I've never been able to find my way out of.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tom is very brave boy.He likes adventure and he can get food on his own.When he met troble, he solve it by himself.I want to imitate his active behavior.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I think Mark Twain is overrated.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I could stand to read this again, give it another shot. I just didn't like Tom or his adventures nearly as much as I did Huck and his.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Never read this during all my school years so I thought I had to give it a shot. I was surprised. I found the book to be rather enjoyable and unlike many other "classics" that fail to live up to the hype. A great story and definitely a classic.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Adventures of Tom Sawyer depicts the life of an imaginative, troublesome boy in the American West of the 1840s. The novel is intensely dramatic in its construction, taking the form of a series of comic vignettes based on Tom's exploits. These vignettes are linked together by a darker story that grows in importance throughout the novel, Tom's life-threatening entanglement with the murderer Injun Joe.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book is a reread for me as I read it in Junior High. Often this book is regarded as a coming of age classic piece of nostalgic Americana. This was my initial conception when I read this 18 years ago. I have discovered that this is not the case. Not by a long shot. The book holds many parallels to Twain's Calvinist up bringing. I don't want to delve too much into the many layers of Twain's writing. I was a bit skeptic at first and believe that these realizations should be obtained first hand.A few things to consider while reading or rereading Tom Sawyer (and then Huck Finn for that matter).The town: St. Petersburg-translates into "St. Peter's city" -Peter is said to be the one that stands at the gates of Heaven to let the worthy in.-St. Petersburg Russia at the time was rife with corruption, murder, and chaos-What are the main things that happen in the town? Is there anything going on to actually be nostalgic about?Adults:-If a town is represented by it's citizens, what do they say about St. Petersburg?-The adults are violent, irrational, pious, judgmental, etc-Take a look at their parenting and child rearing skills. While spare the rod spoil the child has been around for a long time (and still today), the Victorian philosophy incorporates motivating a child to do right out of love and not fear. This is not present in anyway in St. Petersburg. Look at their parenting practices and ask yourself if you would be nostalgic of being a child with those types of parents...These are just some of the basic elements to argue that this is not merely a coming of age boy's book. While reading, keep an eye out for Twain's critique on Romantic Literature that was prevalent with the day and ask yourself what do Tom's trips and Injun Joe represent.I would love to discuss this book further with anyone that is interested!Happy Reading!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This classic is a brilliant book. Mark Twain writes at his finest. It took me back to the days of getting into mischief, hastening the growth of silver hairs upon my parent's heads. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a great book for those seeking an escape from an overly serious world with pretentious aspirations to be noticed. Tom Sawyer and his group of ruffians do a great job of reminding the reader that life isn't always about being a "someone"; its about the adventure. I highly recommend the book. Later into the next year... the sequel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.