A review by jackbowerman
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

2.0

This was, disappointingly, a total chore to get through. Had to put it down and read another book half way. All of the characters are annoying, especially Tom Sawyer. It just feels like it drags on and on with no motive or end in sight. A lot happens but none of it seems to mean much. The King and the Duke are unbearable characters and I'm annoyed they had such a prominent role in the book. Jim is the only tolerable character and even so the racism throughout definitely takes away any enjoyment that exists on the adventures of 'boy-hood'. I get that Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer are probably 'anti-racist', and the story is inherently about freeing a slave, but the racial stereotypes are strung thickly through each page. I think this does more harm than good in enshrining negative racial stereotypes to the past. I also get that, at the time of publication, these racial stereotypes we less taboo, but that can't be used as a justification or an excuse to interpreting this as a good book. Glad I can move onto something else.