The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! đ
asolorio02's review against another edition
4.0
This was an enjoyable read. It's a little similar to The Prince and the Pauper in that the protagonist finds himself in a world that is not his own and goes about making it better. There's also a parallel between the two stories when The Boss and King Arthur dress up like peasants and begin wandering the kingdom, which leads to them getting into all sorts of adventures and the King experiencing, seeing and slowly coming to realize how unfair society is to the common people.
I loved the interactions The Boss had with Merlin. They were too funny. Twain's narrative style a thing of beauty.
I loved the interactions The Boss had with Merlin. They were too funny. Twain's narrative style a thing of beauty.
angelikareadsavariciously's review against another edition
4.0
4.5. I was not expecting this to be so funny! Really enjoyed it.
wardjaeger's review against another edition
4.0
Probably the most enjoyable piece of classic literature that I have read! The contrast between the attitudes of the 6th century royal court and the 19th century factory manager Hank leads to really hilarious situations. Since the story is told from Hankâs perspective, the humor is usually at the expense of the 6th century. Hank will consistently triumph with his knowledge of future events and his experience in technology, all leading up to the climactic and ridiculous jousting match with Sir Sagramor.
On that note, one criticism I have is that everyone from the 6th century is portrayed as pretty idiotic. They constantly fall prey to the simplest of superstitions, and they are often subject to psychotic delusions. I canât tell if that is Mark Twainâs view or just Hankâs, but regardless it often struck me as narrow minded to see the people of the âDark Agesâ in this way. I was particularly frustrated at one scene, in which Hank struggles and ultimately fails to explain to some peasants the distinction between purchasing power and nominal wage; even after multiple pages of dialogue, these peasants still prefer higher wages to better purchasing power, which just seems dumb and very unlikely to me. However, in a somber twist at the end of the frame story, we see that Hank isnât completely free from these sorts of self-deceptions either.
There is a lot of anti-Catholic rhetoric in this book, which the commentary in my edition explains is partially due to the culture of 1880s America. Twain frequently portrays the Church in her actions as a force of ignorance and blindness. The protagonist also explains his thoughts often, saying that âConcentration of power in a political machine is bad; and an Established Church is only a political machineâ. He even claims that the Church âhad converted a nation of men to a nation of wormsâ by inventing the notion of the divine right of kings to suppress the commoners, and further beating down the peasants by means of the Beatitudes, âwrenching them from their good purpose to make them fortify an evil one.â This sort of language is frequent throughout the novel, but nevertheless I was able to tolerate it.
As the commentary frequently reminded me, this novel was apparently one of the first in Twainâs pessimistic era of writing. This shows in a few surprisingly poignant moments, especially during Arthur and Hankâs travels together. However, these emotional beats make for a richer experience, and they provide deeper insight into Arthurâs character as a good man and not just a haughty nobleman. And they never overwhelm the overall sense of silliness and joy, except perhaps at the conclusion of the novel.
I really enjoyed this one! Twain lives up to his name as the greatest American humorist, in my opinion. Itâs an entertaining read, if you can parse the slightly dated language of Twainâs era, and if you can tolerate the blatant anti-Catholicism. As a reader, you really want to see Hank succeed in his quest to modernize medieval England, and he usually delivers, with the help of his trusty âno more than a paragraphâ page boy Clarence.
On that note, one criticism I have is that everyone from the 6th century is portrayed as pretty idiotic. They constantly fall prey to the simplest of superstitions, and they are often subject to psychotic delusions. I canât tell if that is Mark Twainâs view or just Hankâs, but regardless it often struck me as narrow minded to see the people of the âDark Agesâ in this way. I was particularly frustrated at one scene, in which Hank struggles and ultimately fails to explain to some peasants the distinction between purchasing power and nominal wage; even after multiple pages of dialogue, these peasants still prefer higher wages to better purchasing power, which just seems dumb and very unlikely to me. However, in a somber twist at the end of the frame story, we see that Hank isnât completely free from these sorts of self-deceptions either.
There is a lot of anti-Catholic rhetoric in this book, which the commentary in my edition explains is partially due to the culture of 1880s America. Twain frequently portrays the Church in her actions as a force of ignorance and blindness. The protagonist also explains his thoughts often, saying that âConcentration of power in a political machine is bad; and an Established Church is only a political machineâ. He even claims that the Church âhad converted a nation of men to a nation of wormsâ by inventing the notion of the divine right of kings to suppress the commoners, and further beating down the peasants by means of the Beatitudes, âwrenching them from their good purpose to make them fortify an evil one.â This sort of language is frequent throughout the novel, but nevertheless I was able to tolerate it.
As the commentary frequently reminded me, this novel was apparently one of the first in Twainâs pessimistic era of writing. This shows in a few surprisingly poignant moments, especially during Arthur and Hankâs travels together. However, these emotional beats make for a richer experience, and they provide deeper insight into Arthurâs character as a good man and not just a haughty nobleman. And they never overwhelm the overall sense of silliness and joy, except perhaps at the conclusion of the novel.
I really enjoyed this one! Twain lives up to his name as the greatest American humorist, in my opinion. Itâs an entertaining read, if you can parse the slightly dated language of Twainâs era, and if you can tolerate the blatant anti-Catholicism. As a reader, you really want to see Hank succeed in his quest to modernize medieval England, and he usually delivers, with the help of his trusty âno more than a paragraphâ page boy Clarence.
chuxsox's review against another edition
4.0
Written with his trademark wit, A Connecticut Yankee... is chock full of Mark Twain's social commentary on diverse subjects. It can be a bit dry at times, ends abruptly, and is worth the time it may take the reader to slog thru the sometimes archaic language.
theiofthestorm's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
5.0
ablotial's review against another edition
3.0
This is probably more of a 3.5 stars...
This is a book that was very much recommended by my mother. I was really excited when I found it at the Baltimore Book Thing for free and immediately took it home and tried to read it. I got about 2 pages in and was asleep -- one of the most boring things I'd ever read. I tried again 2 or 3 times during the course of 2010 and 2011, but never got past those first few pages.
So in 2012, I added this book to a challenge list for a group I'm in here on GoodReads -- the top 10 books I just "had to have" but still haven't read. If we finished those 10 books, we would get 25 bonus points for other challenges. This I deemed to be a good motivator. It worked, I read this book! (though I only read 8 of the 10 total, so no bonus points for me).
Aaanyway, it turns out that once you get past the first few pages (the "Word of Explanation") and into the actual story, the book gets a LOT better. So I'm glad I forced myself through. But don't skip the Explanation, even though it is incredibly boring, because it covers some very important information that you'll need in order to understand much of the book. Now, that's not to say it's an amazing story... and also the vocabulary is still a bit old since it was written so long ago.
But parts of it are quite funny, and it is a nice sort of "what if" situation. Twain did a great job of imagining how the characters from these two very different times would react to each other. It's a good commentary on society and technology and capitalism, but without being a tedious essay. It's a bit odd how there are no repercussions of his changes to the olden days; when he "returns" to the future it seems to be exactly the same as it was before. I would have thought people would find some trace of the knowledge that he imparted there.
Anyway, a cute book... I'm glad I read it once, but probably not one I will be returning to.
This is a book that was very much recommended by my mother. I was really excited when I found it at the Baltimore Book Thing for free and immediately took it home and tried to read it. I got about 2 pages in and was asleep -- one of the most boring things I'd ever read. I tried again 2 or 3 times during the course of 2010 and 2011, but never got past those first few pages.
So in 2012, I added this book to a challenge list for a group I'm in here on GoodReads -- the top 10 books I just "had to have" but still haven't read. If we finished those 10 books, we would get 25 bonus points for other challenges. This I deemed to be a good motivator. It worked, I read this book! (though I only read 8 of the 10 total, so no bonus points for me).
Aaanyway, it turns out that once you get past the first few pages (the "Word of Explanation") and into the actual story, the book gets a LOT better. So I'm glad I forced myself through. But don't skip the Explanation, even though it is incredibly boring, because it covers some very important information that you'll need in order to understand much of the book. Now, that's not to say it's an amazing story... and also the vocabulary is still a bit old since it was written so long ago.
But parts of it are quite funny, and it is a nice sort of "what if" situation. Twain did a great job of imagining how the characters from these two very different times would react to each other. It's a good commentary on society and technology and capitalism, but without being a tedious essay. It's a bit odd how there are no repercussions of his changes to the olden days; when he "returns" to the future it seems to be exactly the same as it was before. I would have thought people would find some trace of the knowledge that he imparted there.
Anyway, a cute book... I'm glad I read it once, but probably not one I will be returning to.
cassandrahpenny's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I think this book is an example of "hey maybe you should look up the rough plot beforehand" - I think I found it difficult to follow it at times, maybe it was due to listening rather than reading? Unsure. Absolutely LOVED the narration though. The story just wasn't for me!
m1thrandir's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
rubiscodisco's review against another edition
5.0
When I last read this book, it was an abridged classics for children, complete with pictures for every page. Of course by read, I didn't actually read it the first time. I was, like, seven, and I just looked at the pictures and didn't read it all the way through. I think that I would have read it though if I had known how fun it was in its unabridged form, since most of this book's wit, humour, and bite would have been unprintable on a children's book.
Twain's view on empires, on monarchies, of the Roman Catholic Church, and meat-headed knight-errantry were delicious, delicious, delicious. Add to that the fact that he is hilarious and that gets this book five stars. There is something to be emulated in a man whose humour is still vibrant after a century.
Twain's view on empires, on monarchies, of the Roman Catholic Church, and meat-headed knight-errantry were delicious, delicious, delicious. Add to that the fact that he is hilarious and that gets this book five stars. There is something to be emulated in a man whose humour is still vibrant after a century.