Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

12 reviews

disauci's review against another edition

adventurous funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was a fun book.  It's not without its flaws, of course.  It was written by Mark Twain in the 19th century and while it was progressive for the time, it is still racist looking back.  Its explorations of death, childhood, and relationships were beautiful and it's easy to relate to Huck Finn in an odd way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Kidnapping, and Death of parent

Moderate: Confinement, Violence, and Classism

Minor: Cursing, Misogyny, and Alcohol

shoshin's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I reread this book for the first time in years after reading James by Percival Everett. I was curious how the two books lined up, and couldn't recall after all this time what the major events were in Huckleberry Finn. I had completely forgotten the weird part at the end where Huck pretends to be Tom. I had also forgotten the sheer volume of times the n-word gets used. It was very unpleasant. 

James is a book for adults. Huckleberry Finn is a book for children. Both wrestle with race in very different ways, but ultimately, Huckleberry Finn misses the mark badly. I prefer James for a number of reasons.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Violence and Death of parent

Minor: Toxic friendship

kcc810's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

1.5

The story is hard to follow, rambling, too much dialect. The middle third is mildly funny I guess, but the racism and racial language are so heavy it feels difficult to tolerate. Most of the characters are incredibly flat and lack dimension. Tom Sawyer in the last third is one of the most obnoxious characters ever written. Risking someone’s life and freedom for child’s play? Not the entertaining story you might expect from a story that I’ve heard proclaimed to be anti-slavery. Twain seems very tied to his time, this novel is anything but timeless. If you want to read it for a glimpse into a period in history, I’d still suggest you choose another novel that focuses less on childish folly.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

celery's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

emmacb's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A real adventure, I really enjoyed the parts where they were floating down the river as trying to imagine something so far out of my experience was a lot of fun. It was also an interesting peek into life at the time from an admittedly somewhat quirky kid's perspective! 

However, the use of the n word was, once again, a LOT. I gave some serious thought to putting this book down but after reading about it a little I decided to finish it (mostly in private because I was terrified of someone reading it over my shoulder)! 

One particularly interesting article mentioned how this book was both racist and anti-racist. Now the content is definitely pretty racist but at the time of it's writing it was controversial for being so 'abolitionist' which is one of the better demonstrations of 'context of the time it was written' I've seen. 

That said, I think all the articles I read were by white people so need to try harder to find some own voices perspectives which may change my thoughts. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Child abuse

amalas_bookstop's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny informative lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I enjoyed Hucks perspective just a little bit more than Tom’s, however the language was still hard for me to read. I am very glad I finished it, I won’t pick it up again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Slavery

Minor: Death of parent

kreglow's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny hopeful lighthearted sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

scoobygirl93's review against another edition

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

amytk's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Slavery, and Death of parent

singalana's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Aluksi irralliselta kokoelmalta sattumuksia vaikuttava romaani nivoutuu lopussa yhteen ehjäksi seikkailukertomukseksi, joka koskettaa monia yhteiskunnallisia teemoja, jotka ovat relevantteja yhä tänäkin päivänä.

Kirjan tapahtumat sijoittuvat noin parikymmentä vuotta ennen Yhdysvaltain sisällissotaa, jolloin orjuus oli voimissaan. Kirjan päähenkilö Huckleberry Finn on lähtöisin kurjista oloista, ja hänen isänsä on väkivaltainen alkoholisti. Kirjan alkupuolella neiti Watson yrittää sivistää Huckia, mutta poika ei sivistyksestä juuri piittaa. Hän karkaa lautalla alas Missisippijokea, seuranaan neiti Watsonin karannut orja Jim. Jim on taikauskoinen, mutta lojaali ystävä. Matkallaan Huck ja Jim kohtaavat huijareita ja epäoikeudenmukaisuutta, mutta myös ystävällisyyttä.

Huckleberry Finnin seikkailut on päältäpäin katsottuna seikkailu- ja veijariromaani, mutta sisimmässään kehitysromaani, joka kuvaa Huckin suhdetta “sivistyneeseen” yhteiskuntaan ja oikein tekemiseen. Yhteiskunnan lakien mukaan Huck tekee väärin auttaessaan Jimiä tämän pakomatkalla, mutta sisimmässään Huck tietää että Jim on hyvä ihminen, eikä halua saattaa tätä takaisin orjuuteen. 

Mark Twainin kirjoitustyyli, etenkin repliikit, ovat usein pitkiä ja polveilevia. Hänen henkilöhahmonsa ovat monitahoisia ja mielenkiintoisia, sekä usein hyvin inhimillisiä kaikkine vikoineen. Kirjan kielenkäyttö ja asetelma tuntuu nykylukijasta rasistiselta, mutta täytyy muistaa että kirja on aikansa tuote, ja teoksen pohjavireenä on kuitenkin kritiikki vallitsevaa yhteiskuntajärjestystä kohtaan. 

Huckleberry Finnin seikkailuja lukiessa voi aluksi erehtyä luulemaan tarinaa suoraviivaiseksi seikkailukertomukseksi, mutta mikäli keskittyy pintapuolisesti vain seikkailuaspektiin, jää paitsi Mark Twainin taitavasta yhteiskunnallisesta kritiikistä. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Death of parent, and Alcohol