The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain

Mark Twain is someone who is know to have written about what he knew and 19th century life along the Mississippi River was certainly that. This is one of those unique stories that can be read on many levels. It is an adventure story, coming of age drama, social commentary and even a historical satire. The joy of reading this for a book club is that we were able to talk about it and judge it on all of these levels.

The reader is able to travel down the Mississippi with Huck and Jim, seeing them both imperiled when they left the safety of the river, as they try to escape their own forms of bondage. Finally Huck realizes that he must become "uncivilized" if he is to accept Jim's humanity and yet, civilization is perhaps the most unattractive "character" in the novel. This is bravely told and important reading for modern readers.