Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Operation Read Your Shelves: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn


I'm so excited to be participating in a new literary project! Books, books, books! I don't know if I've shared much with you about my love for them, but it's real and it's strong. My ultimate dream is to write novels because of the enjoyment they bring me.

Lauren of 34 Magnolia Street is hosting her first Operation Read Your Shelves linkup this week. It's a monthly book review linkup with a focus on reading what you already own, but haven't read yet. I have a TON of those, so I thought this would be the perfect incentive to plow through them all.

When I first heard about this project, I was already reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and decided to finish it for this post.


So, I finished it, looked at my sister, Rebekah, and said, "Wow, I don't have a clue what to write about this book..."

I'm sure y'all are somewhat familiar with the plot. A young hoodlum named Huckleberry runs off with a slave named Jim in the mid-nineteenth century. Together they sail down the Mississippi having adventures and encountering colorful characters. Truth be told, the plot was a bit boring to me. Two guys sailing down a river on a raft, repeatedly getting in and out of trouble doesn't really do it for me. The dialogue was pretty interesting given the dialect it's written in. But, the characters themselves represented a very uneducated group of people (although they can lie like nobody's business). Is that harsh to say? That's why I wasn't sure what to write. I know it's beloved by many, but I caught myself getting frustrated multiple times by the thickheadedness of almost everyone.

The fact that it's an American classic is most assuredly due to the piece of history it captures and the boyhood life it glorifies. But, the best thing about it for me, was the relationship between Huck and Jim. It painted an entirely different picture of the master-slave dynamic than the one we usually think of. Throughout the story, they protect and defend one another, developing a mutual respect and a deep friendship. There are several lines that must have been quite bold for the  time the book was published, due to the abolitionist sentiment behind them. Ultimately, it's the story of a boy and his friend and their love of adventure. I give it a mid-thumbs up. :)

Have you read it? Wanna share your thoughts below?

-Song

8 comments:

  1. So glad you linked up, my friend! And that you finished this book :). I agree - that kind of plot doesn't typically do it for me, either, so I've avoided it outside of the fact I'm pretty sure I read this for school at some point… ;)

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    1. I'm so excited for this project of yours! :) And I'm glad I finished it, too. ;) Thanks for giving me the push I needed! You would've thought I'd have read it for school, but I never did. I decided I'd better go ahead, so I could check it off my list. Now to finish Bronte...much more my speed. :)

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  2. Yeah...I'll probably let Huckleberry drift on by. I wasn't excited by "Tom Sawyer" either, but I do want to take a stab at "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court."

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    1. That one does look more interesting, doesn't it? I might be willing to take a stab at it, too. :)

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  3. Visiting from the linkup! I've read this book for my english class, and I think I was too young to understand the whole controversy behind it, and the dialogue was hard for me to understand. haha.

    A few years ago, I picked it up again & I'm so glad I took the time to read it. I really enjoyed it & I too loved the relationship between Huck & Jim.

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    1. That's great! I'm glad you enjoyed it so much! I wish I'd enjoyed it more, but there were definitely postive/interesting thoughts I came away from it with. Thanks for visiting!!!

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  4. I read this book Junior year of high school and did NOT like it! I was so bored... but I feel like I need to reread it! I wonder if I would think differently about it now that I'm a little older and I'm not being FORCED to read it! Because there is definitely a part of me that wants to like it - just because of the fact that it is such a classic! Great review!

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    1. Thanks, Abigail! I too wish I'd liked it more cause it is such a classic (isn't it funny that we think that way?), but you like what you like, I guess. :) I'm currently reading Villette, and I'm pretty sure I'll enjoy that more. :)

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