A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court - Mark Twain

A man mysteriously talks about King Arthur's court as though he has been there. He then leaves some papers with a stranger and encourages him to read. The papers are an account of this man's time in court. How he tried to change the way those people worked and how he was sent on his own crusade by King Arthur himself.

When I picked this up I was hoping for/expecting something light and extremely funny. Sadly that's not actually what I got. Whilst there was plenty tongue in cheek the book took itself a little too seriously, I thought. First the humour was really a ridicule of the King Arthur legends. It strips away the romantic view everyone has of King Arthur and his court. The men and women are slobs. The men make up or exaggerate their tales of adventure before King Arthur. Everyone realises this but it's all part of the ritual. The ladies are crude, laughing and making jokes that would make a women of Hogan (the time traveler  era blush.They are also none too bright.

Once Hogan manages to save his own neck he believes that he can change the way the world works with him as the leader. This is where the serious part comes in. He spends much of his time trying to remove power from the church and put it in the hands of the man. He sets up a school to educate the masses. When he is sent (against his will) on his own quest he rescues prisoners and sends them to his schools. He brings about commercialism and advertising.

Had I known that much of this was going to be an essay on the power of the state and the church I probably would have left it to another time because it's not what I was in the mood for. That's not to say it wasn't a good book./ It was, it just wasn't what I wanted at that time and as a result I didn't enjoy it quite as much. I also found the narrator, Hogan, to be quite irritating. He was quite pompous and so sure that he was right. Quite a lot of the time he made a bit of a fool of himself but he was also Twain's mouthpiece. On the plus side I was amused at recognising some of the stories thanks to John Steinbeck.

I read this as part of the classics challenge hosted by Katherine of November's Autumn. This months prompt is about the last chapter read. As I tend to wait until I finish the book before doing these prompts I am going to go for most memorable. For me that would be the first chapter. The one in which the story is set up. The person who comes to read Hogan's story is admiring a portrait of King Arthur's court. As he does he notices that one of the figures in the painting has been damaged so you can't see the features. It's then that Hogan approaches him and claims to have known Arthur. We can guess that Hogan had deliberately damaged the painting so that he wouldn't be recognised. This set up makes the book sound more promising and more like what I was expecting.

The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain

More than anything Huck Finn just wants a quiet life. Sadly everyone is going out of his way to ensure that he doesn't get it. Going from town loser to town hero he has been adopted by a widow and her sister. Both are determined that he will become a gentleman whether he likes it or not. Huck is just getting used to the idea when his dad comes along and Huck is determined to get away from him. So he makes his way down river on a raft with runaway slave, Jim. He is in trouble enough and is just trying to keep out of but sure enough more comes along his way as he is caught up in family feuds, cons, murder and more.

It's not quite as good as Tom Sawyer. Poor Huck doesn't have the mind for mischief that Tom has. He doesn't actually want to do wrong as he has a conscience that bothers him quite a bit. He just wants to be left alone and to spend his days fishing. He is actually a very sweet character and as a reader I just wanted him to get his dream. Whether that was the best thing for him or not. Every time he seemed to settle just a little something would come along and spoil things for him.

I loved the character Jim too. I wanted him to get free and to find his family. I loved how superstitious he was. Saw bad luck in everything. The only mischievous thing about Huck was that he would play on poor Jim's superstitions. In the end though he would tell him the truth and occasionally he would be caught up in the superstitions too. One example is that Huck picking up a snake skin is given the blame for every bad thing that happens to them.

I did get a little bored with the con artists at one point. I was actually quite glad when they eventually left the scene. It's my only criticism of the book and even then it's only miner since I did find them amusing most of the time. I loved the ending too. Seemed apt that Tom would end up buddying with his best friend again.

I read this as part of the classics challenge hosted by Katherine on November Moon. I used the challenge as an excuse to read it after re-reading Tom Sawyer for another challenge. Shocking that I had read one and not the other. 

Classics Challenge - April Prompt

This months prompt is all about one of my favourite topics - the book cover. Why is it my favourite? Well it means that I get to rave about how fantastic the covers of the Vintage classics are. I mean it, I have yet to find one that I didn't like. When other publisher print special editions of books I will sometimes go for those first. Like the Penguin cloth editions (how can you not). Otherwise I always hunt out the Vintage edition. If the shop doesn't have it I check to see if it maybe doesn't exist in that edition before buying a different one.

When I first saw this edition of Huckleberry Finn I fell immediately in love with it. I was buying Tom Sawyer at the time for another challenge. I couldn't leave this behind and so used the classics challenge as an excuse to purchase it. I love the freshness of it. It screams innocence. Which is what Huckleberry is, innocent.

From the cover of the book it's easy to see that Huck just wants a quiet life. He wants to spend his days lazing and fishing. In that sense it does reflect the book very well. I also mentioned innocence. Huck is actually quite a soft hearted character whose conscience is always bothering him (unlike Tom Sawyer). So in that way it's also a true reflection. It also depicts a scene of tranquility which is far from what actually happens to Huck but it's what he wishes for.

I'm not sure I would design the cover any differently from that. I suppose one of Huck and Jim on the raft would have been a good one but I am happy with the cover of this one.

Here is something else I love about the Vintage covers. They design themes around them. So that all the books by the same author are similar. That way if you just want the books of one author they are a matching set. This is the Tom Sawyer book and you can see how they match. The boys are out fishing when really they should be in school (well, I am guessing it's from that particular scene). You can see why I couldn't pick up one and not the other. I think most of the books I have picked out for this challenge are by vintage so you can look out for those covers if you are interested.

This challenge is organised my Katherine of November's Autumn. If you want to see what everyone else is saying about the covers of their books you can do so here. 

I've finished Huckleberry Finn and will try to review the book itself tomorrow.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain

Tom Sawyer and his brother are living with his aunt Polly and his cousin Mary since the death of their parents. Polly loves her nephews dearly but Tom can be so trying. A loveable boy who seems to find trouble without actually looking. In this short book he manages to find love, become a pirate, see a murder, find treasure, cross his nemesis and get himself lost.

This was a re-read for me and a good one. I was looking forward to reading it again. I loved this book the first time. It was one of many books that I was recommended to read as a kid but since it was about boys I wasn't interested. In all honesty I don't think I would have appreciated it back then for that reason so I am kind of glad that I read it in my 20's.

Tom is definitely one of those characters you can't help but love. He has the best of intentions which always seem to get him in trouble. I can imagine most boys reading this book and being able to relate to most of it.   I was so amused by everything he got up to.

It was all told with such humour too but a sort of dry humour. I loved the incantations Tom whole heartedly believed in. He believed that nothing worked without one and if it didn't work even then a witch must have interfered with it. One (of many) example is he buries a marble says an incantation and this marble is then supposed to attract all the other marbles he has ever lost. Of course every time he does this he forgets where he has buried the marble.

Reading this book you certainly won't be bored as Tom is very rarely ever bored. He is always up to something and as a result I found myself powering through the book. I was actually quite sad by the time it had ended. I am sure that wasn't the end of Tom's adventures.

The reason I read this again is that it is part of the League of Extraordinary Gentleman challenge hosted by Hanna of Booking In Heels. Tom is the character we are focusing on this time. As much as I love him I think he is the odd one out so far. He is just a typical little boy unlike all the other characters in the League. He is the protege in the graphic novel and film. An adventurer which sort of fits but he still stands out among all the others. I wonder why the author picked him. If you want to see what people have thought about the other characters you can do so here.