Manga Classics: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Goodreads Synopsis:    Chafed by the -sivilized- restrictions of his foster home, and weary of his drunkard father's brutality, 14 year-old Huck Finn fakes his own death and sets off on a raft down the Mississippi River. He is soon joined by Jim, an escaped slave. Together, they experience a series of rollicking adventures that have amused readers, young and old, for over a century. The fugitives become close friends as they weather storms together aboard the raft and spend idyllic days swimming, frying catfish suppers, and enjoying their independence. Their peaceful existence ends abruptly, however, with the appearance of the King and the Duke, an incorrigible pair of con artists who take over the raft. After many difficulties, Huck and Jim escape their tormentors, and with the help of an imaginative rescue by Huck's old friend Tom Sawyer, Jim gains his freedom. Manga Classics breathes new life into this American Classic with a faithful adaptation of Mark Twain's masterpiece. 

My Thoughts:

-    I first read Tom Sawyer when I was in middle school, and I've loved the story ever since. Yes, I read it because of Wishbone. I've always wanted to read Huck's story, but I could never get into it. It has a different feel to me.

-    I've been loving these Manga Classics, and I thought this would be a good way for me to finally read the story. I still struggled. I had to push myself to finish.

-    I thought Huck's adventure down the river would be more adventurous. It was more like a series of meetings with terrible people. The "duke" and the "king" were the worst. Huck should have ditched them WAY sooner. I wish the story had focused more on Jim and reuniting him with his family. 

-    A lot of the dialogue is spelled phonetically, and I struggled to understand what a lot of the characters were saying. There is a note at the beginning of the book explaining that they were trying to preserve Mark Twain's original works and the dialects and accents of the time. I get why they did it, and I can appreciate it. I just had a hard time translating it sometimes. I had to have my hubby help me with a few panels.

-    The overall story isn't terrible. There are a lot of good things that happen, and I liked Huck and Jim a lot. This story just isn't as fun to me as Tom Sawyer.