The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain Release Date: 1876 Publisher: Wisehouse Classics (Note: publisher of the edition I read, not the original publisher) Fiction/American Classic Standalone Novel (there are a few other Tom Sawyer books, but it’s not really a series) Number of Pages: 140 Kindle Edition Source: Amazon free download Rating: PG Read 3/1/17 to 3/10/17
You may remember that we were reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn for my book club. Some of us decided to also read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer since it technically comes before Huck Finn, although they are not really a series. Instead of having a book club post with two book reviews, I am posting just my review of Tom Sawyer today. Tomorrow I’ll post my book club review with my own review of Huck Finn as well as some of the discussion my book club had about both books.
When I originally read Tom Sawyer I believe I was in middle school. At the time it fascinated me. The story really gives you an inside look at life in a smallish town in the America in the 1800s. I know I read the book again in my 20s and still enjoyed it, but it had lost some of its magic.
Reading this story for a third time I can say it’s not one that, for me, stands up to re-reading. I’d rather keep it in that section of my brain that was still naïve to so many things in the world. The me that read this book while I was still innocent, so to speak.
I remember being very bothered by the language used when I first read this book. Now I appreciate the author’s use of correct language and dialects for the time he was writing about. I still don’t like it, there are many words I would never use myself, but it’s true to the time.
If you’ve never read this book, I strongly encourage you to pick it up. It’s not long and it’s really a wonderful piece of classic American literature. But if you read it years ago and remember it fondly, it may not hold up to your more adult (and dare I say cynical) views of today.
3 stars
Remember to come back tomorrow for my book club recap and to find out what we’re reading next!
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