doranwannabee's review
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
I picked this up because I was interested in the "Letters from the Earth" story but I ended up liking the other stories and entries much more. "The adventures of Tom Sawyer" warmed me up to Mark Twain but this book made me a fan. Personal recs are : A Cat-tale, The Great Dark, From an Unfinished Burlesque on Books of Etiquette (specifically "At a fire"), Letter to the Earth, Eve's autobiography. I've had to guard myself against his cynicism but the book was a joy to read overall.
jameseckman's review
3.0
Some leftovers from the Clemens' estate, the first third being religious satire, followed by some amusing shorts, literary criticism, chunks of humorous travel log, and a bizarre incomplete novella. Recommended for people who have read lots of Twain, otherwise "Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven", one of his travel books, and a short story collection will provide similar content of a better quality.
stardanzer's review
4.0
Readers unfamiliar with Mark Twain's work outside of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn are missing out! This short collection of essays and unfinished works, gathered and edited by Bernard DeVoto, is not for those who are easily offended. Twain doesn't hesitate to express his thoughts through satire and other commentary and spares no expense in his iconoclasm towards Christianity as a whole.
Writing about everything from the proper tail-length for a cat to dreams that go on for years but happen in a moment, Twain proves a lively and perceptive tour guide to those interested in looking at the world objectively. Anyone with a sense of humor will appreciate this delightfully uncensored collection!
Writing about everything from the proper tail-length for a cat to dreams that go on for years but happen in a moment, Twain proves a lively and perceptive tour guide to those interested in looking at the world objectively. Anyone with a sense of humor will appreciate this delightfully uncensored collection!
jessiqa's review
3.0
This is a collection of short pieces written by Twain and unpublished until 1938. As a fan of Twain, this is fantastic. I first learned about this set years ago when sorting through some old LIFE magazines at the local library. There was a title story about the first publication of these unpublished works. I spent some time reading the selection in LIFE when I should have been working on continuing to sort magazines and have had a desire to read the whole thing ever since.
The title story was the first in the collection. I understand that many will regard it as a work of genius due to the level of satire it exhibits, however it simply struck me as bitter: the satire was so scathing, so angry, that it was quite off-putting. The rest of the stories I enjoyed. Some were incomplete since Twain had a habit of not finishing every story that he started. I especially enjoyed "Letter To The Earth" in which a regular human receives a letter from heaven in response to a prayer. The letter has everything quantified, it reads more like a report from an accountant. Very funny.
I definitely recommend this book for any fan of Twain. I'm not sure this would be the best introduction to Twain's work, for it is not necessarily his typical work. There's not as much of the playfulness that one finds in Tom Sawyer or The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. Still, good times wait within for anyone who wishes to read this book.
The title story was the first in the collection. I understand that many will regard it as a work of genius due to the level of satire it exhibits, however it simply struck me as bitter: the satire was so scathing, so angry, that it was quite off-putting. The rest of the stories I enjoyed. Some were incomplete since Twain had a habit of not finishing every story that he started. I especially enjoyed "Letter To The Earth" in which a regular human receives a letter from heaven in response to a prayer. The letter has everything quantified, it reads more like a report from an accountant. Very funny.
I definitely recommend this book for any fan of Twain. I'm not sure this would be the best introduction to Twain's work, for it is not necessarily his typical work. There's not as much of the playfulness that one finds in Tom Sawyer or The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. Still, good times wait within for anyone who wishes to read this book.
More...