Huckleberry Finn, rebel against school and church, casual inheritor of gold treasure, rafter of the Mississippi, and savior of Jim the runaway slave, is the archetypal American maverick.
Fleeing the respectable society that wants to "sivilize" him, Huck Finn shoves off with Jim on a rhapsodic raft journey down the Mississippi River. The two bind themselves to one another, becoming intimate friends and agreeing "there warn't no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don't. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft."
As Huck learns about love, responsibility, and morality, the trip becomes a metaphoric voyage through his own soul, culminating in the glorious moment when he decides to "go to hell" rather than return Jim to slavery. Unabridged. 10 hours. 8 CDs. Read by William Dufris.
Considered the first great American novel, part of Finns charm is the wisdom and sobering social criticism deftly lurking amongst the seemingly innocent observations of the uneducated Huck and the even-less-educated escaped slave, Jim. William Dufriss voice, unpretentious and disarming, like the books main characters, seems the perfect armature on which to hang this literary strategy. Although he does an expert job with the entire cast, Dufriss delivery of Jims dialogue is his crowning achievement. Out of context, Dufriss Jim might sound mocking and racist, due to his expert delivery of Twains regional vernacular. Ignorance and intelligence, however, are not mutually exclusive, and taken as a whole, Jims mind and heart come shining through, allowing the listener to reflect on their own assumptions. Tantor Media includes the entire text as a digital e-book on the final CD, a wise and thoughtful move in a market with swift and changing currents. (Mar.)Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.
