New essays on Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Choice Review

These four essays on Huckleberry Finn do not so much redefine the traditional critical questions about the novel as reexamine them from new vantage points. The essays address familiar topics, such as Twain's relation to realism, his use of the vernacular, and the way language functions in his fiction. But by making use of techniques derived from modern linguistics, rhetorical theory, and reader-response criticism, they offer fresh readings of some of the book's more familiar passages. The contributions by Michael Bell and Steven Mailloux are of particular interest, since they combine critical analysis with social and literary history. For the general reader, Budd's introductory essay is perhaps the most valuable. Budd draws upon his extensive knowledge of Twain and provides a thoughtful, well-written sketch of the biographical and historical facts that bear on the novel. In addition, he gives an insightful summary of the major critical responses to Huckleberry Finn in a way that is informative and useful even for the specialist. This is a welcome addition to Twain studies and is a good purchase for university, college, community college, and public libraries.-T.P. Riggio, University of Connecticut