I think a key thing people need to understand about “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” as a novel is that it is, in many ways, a story about trauma and abuse.
The essential plot of the story that Twain tells in this novel is that Huck and Jim are both fleeing from a truly terrible system of oppression and abuse. Jim is fleeing from White Supremacy and Slavery and Huck is, to a certain extent, fleeing from the Patriarchy. They are both victimised and failed not just by their individual abusers (The Widow for Jim and Pap for Huck), but also by the larger social system around them (that last point is especially present at the beginning of the novel when Huck’s life is ruined when Judge Thatcher sends him back to live with his father despite the fact that Huck already had a decent living situation with the Widow Douglas and should be immune to poverty ever again because of what he was doing to help Tom Sawyer in that book). And so neither of them have a place in a society that is cruel and exploits them, hence why they make such natural allies when the time comes for them to flee down the River together towards Cairo.
And this is especially evident in how, yeah, a big part of Huck’s journey throughout this story is about learning to overcome the learned helplessness he has internalised for pretty much his entire life. The kind of worldview where you try to rebel and fight back against the abuse you suffer every day, but you still ultimately default to obedience just as a way to survive. And Twain, of course, draws a subtle but clear link between the mundane domestic abuse enacted by people such as Pap Finn and the vast, nationwide form of domestic abuse that was chattel slavery.
And of course, this is very possibly a big reason why Tom Sawyer can’t quite get his head around helping Jim. To him (a boy raised in a very soft, privileged, and loving household), abuse is just another form of distant fictional villainy no different than dastardly knights and wicked robbers holding princesses and adventurers captive. He has never had to confront the systemic violence of his society either on a personal level or in having to see and empathise with someone who is one of its victims. He filters everything through the lens of his classic adventure stories because he has almost no other lens through which to comprehend the world.
And I am sorry to all the Sawyerberry shippers out there (of whom I am one myself, in whole and complete honesty), but there is a reason why Huck decides to go out West with Jim at the story’s ending rather than staying in Saint Petersburg at the end of the story. For he has in fact realised the fundamental truth that he does not wholly belong in the corrupt and twisted society through which he and Jim have just travelled, and he knows that he must go out West to seek his own destiny relatively free from the constraints of the society in which he has grown up. And in all honesty, it is very likely that the very careless and rather selfish manner in which Tom attempted to construct the rescue of Jim from the Phelps farm is a big reason for this. Though he will probably never fully hate Tom in even the slightest degree and their love for each other will always burn eternal, Huck realises that both of them (Tom especially, in all honesty) need to do a lot of growing up before they can truly become the people whom they were meant to be. Especially since a lot of their love for each other at this young stage of their lives is based on them idolising the other in an unhealthy way (with Tom longing for what he sees as Huck’s freedom and wild-spiritedness and Huck longing for the warmth and happiness and stability that Tom enjoys in his own life) rather than truly and fully understanding each other as whole and complete human beings.
This is a book I’d vaguely heard of getting literary award buzz when I was looking for more non-genre (well, non-SFF, historical fiction probably still meets most definitions of ‘genre’) books for my TBR. Several months later, I happened to see it on the shelf of a bookstore I was at the grand opening of, so I figured I might as well grab it. Which is to say, I opened this with only the vaguest possible idea that it was ‘Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim the Slave’. Which is really all you need, except god I wish I had more than a bookjacket-summary memory of what actually happens in Huckleberry Finn now – I do feel like it would have significantly improved the reading experience here.
In any case, the plot does fit the broad strokes of that basic pitch – following Jim and (usually) Huck as they run away and up the Mississippi River to escape being sold and after faking his own death (respectively), and hitting all the main beats of Twain’s picaresque that I can vaguely recall – though with notable divergences and a quite distinct ending. Far more fundamentally, this is a retelling where the character of Jim as he appears in the original novel is entirely a performance – acting the part of the simple, slack-jawed slave because to do otherwise is to invite ruin and death at the hands of paranoid slavers (and white Americans in general). James is a man who taught himself to read sneaking into a judge’s library, who speaks with perfect diction and whose fever-dreams consist of imagined conversations with Locke and Voltaire. And equally a man who knows perfectly well that the men who own him would react to a slave who can read – let alone one who is at least their intellectual equal – with brutal and exemplary violence.
So! This is a novel that is About Race – and race, slavery and the imagining of history in the American context, especially. It is not, it must be said, especially subtle about this. Like, Django Unchained with a PhD is how I described the ending to someone right after finishing it, and I think I more or less stand by that.
Most obviously and prominently, the book is concerned with code switching and the performance of (un)sophistication. Like the original Twain novel, the dialogue is all written in the vernacular – and among the slaves on the cast, this both means ‘talking like a slave’ when there are white people around and speaking normally when there are safely only fellow black people within hearing. Which is to say, going from the cartoonish caricature of a vernacular dialect that (I mean, I am assuming) Twain gave his slaves to speaking in modern, unmarked (and often elevated and intellectual) standard American English. The idea of ‘slave language’ being a degrading but necessary performance put on so that white people have the pleasure of feeling smarter and more eloquent (wiser, more perceptive, and generally just better) than their black slaves and more feel the need to assert their supremacy through violence is one running through the whole of the book – as is the sheer mental toll keeping it up and trying to figure out when it’s safe to drop takes on James.
The book does not dwell on them in any really lurid details, but the myriads threats and horrors of slavery – all the different ways a slave can end up tortured or killed for nothing but a glimmer of self-respect, insufficiently dogged work-ethic, or simple bad luck. A man brutally executed for stealing a pencil gets plenty of focus. As does the total incomprehension from both Huck and most (even putatively anti-slavery) whites about just what dangerous, precarious lives anyone black lives under. James considers the idea of a ‘good master’ as something of a cruel joke, just like that of ‘christian mercy’ from a nation built upon slavery.
This is, it must be said, an incredibly intellectual novel. (The intended effect is obvious, but there is something a bit politically questionable about how James’ dignity and humanity that must be hidden is represented by speaking and thinking with the voice of a New York Magazine staff writer.) James’ literacy – and in particular, his ability to write, is treated as nearly sacred by the book in general and by James himself, with the thought of recording some true and honest story of his life that will survive him behind only to rescuing his wife and daughter and avoiding slavery himself in terms of the goals driving him on (I am not sure if the incredibly bleak reading of how he will in fact be remembered nigh-entirely through Huckleberry Finn’s blinkered and deeply-if-unintentionally racist perspective is intentional. But it does present itself). It’s a bit of a joke that none of the actual slavers in the book are able to justify themselves with anything but abuse and violence, so James needs to hallucinate dialogues with Voltaire to have even slightly intellectually satisfying chances to vindicate himself and refute slavery’s ideological justifications, which is admittedly a pretty good bit.
It is, as a final note, a bit disappointing that in addition to setting and plot the book seems to have taken its cues on writing women from the 19th century as well. Or maybe that’s slightly too harsh, but I swear every woman in this book with a name and more than one appearance seems to be there primarily to be raped, menaced, sold down the river, or otherwise victimized in a way that’s mainly framed as important for the reaction is arouses in James. It gets a tad tiresome.
Anyway, I entirely lack the emotional connection to Huckleberry Finn to even slightly understand the people talking about this as a ‘necessary’ read or anything. If you’ve seen Django Unchained and/or Twelve Years A Slave and add in about 10% more cynicism about white people you get most of the book’s actual content just fine. But it’s certainly an interesting and well-written read. Oddly enough my main actual new takeaway from it is just a real appreciation for how utterly massive and awe-inspiring the Mississippi is.
American writer Percival Everett has confirmed the New Zealand director will helm the movie version of his Pulitzer Prize-winning book.
"It would be very easy for James [the movie] to become really quite earnest, and I don't want that to happen to it. I think that Taika and I can figure out a way to strike the right tone," Everett tells RNZ's Saturday Morning.
The Village Library Demon Hunting Society by C.M. Waggoner
I read 70 books last year. These are my favorites. It was so hard to narrow them down and there were so many good books! They aren't only 2025 releases, like some people do. They're just from what I read in 2025. I recommend any and all of them.
What's some of your favorite books you've read this year? I'm looking into getting back into reading more
omg what a wonderful ask!!! I'll try to give a varied list. I tend to alternate 'serious' reads with less engaging books to keep my brain happy and stimulated but not too tired, with work and everything else. However, most of these are kind of 'heavy' books, so maybe tell me a genre if none of these inspire you and I'll make another list! This list does not include Wuthering Heights, because I think it's a classic everyone knows, as well as the brainless romance books I nonetheless enjoyed bc you asked my favourites :'', but again ask away if you want to know those too.
Titles described under the cut: The Left Hand of Darkness, A Room with a View, The Listeners, We Do Not Part, The Sword of Kaigen, James, The Husbands, Dylan Goes Electric, The Brontes.
The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula K. Le Guin (sci-fi, 1969, I'd say a book that engages your mind a lot, you can't really read it to relax): we follow the Envoy Genly Ai, a human tasked to make first contact between the planetary federation he represents and the population of Winter, a planet with a very cold climate whose inhabitants have no fixed sex but become sexual once every 27 days, thus a society where gender roles are nonexistent and religion & society are greatly different from 'ours'. Incredibly interesting, moving, gorgeously well-written, clever, made my brain buzzy with ideas. Many paragraphs were so eloquent and dense with meaning, I had to take a moment to savour them. Takes its time with the pacing and plot, but any effort it requires from the reader is well worth it imho! (and I typically do not love scifi); Made me understand why scifi fucks (AH!) so supremely.
A Room with a View, by E.M. Forster (humorous but so so clever, a romance from 1908 that aims to give a full portrait of the society it is set in): young Lucy Honeychurch has been brought up in the restrictive and restrained English society of the beginning of the last century, but as she tours Italy (my beloved Florence!), she may finally bloom into a more independent and realised version of herself, also thanks to those she meets.. and keeps meeting in England, once her Tour ends. Humorous and funny but in the way sharp clever writing can be, acute and in control in the society it represents, really a gem. forgive me for this, but reminded me of terry pratchett if he wrote an Edwardian romance novel.
The Listeners, by Maggie Stiefvater (historical novel with magical realism elements, 2025): after the events of Pearl Harbor, in the chaos that followed the US also had to deal with the issue of the diplomats of the Axis countries that were now their enemies, and this political hot potato was given to the luxury hotels of the country, which had to host the diplomats for a few tense months. The novel follows the marvel of a character that is June Hudson, the general manager as well as the heart and soul of the fictional Avallon Hotel, hotel whose sweetwater has some sort of magical power. Jane has to deal with this new batch of guests -Nazis&associates-, and the FBI agents sent to handle the situation... plus her life, the hotel microcosm, and the sweetwater. As all of Stiefvater's novels, the world is rich in details, the character mostly irresistible (and when they're not, they still do their job well), the adventure dazzling, the plot a bit meandering but with a solid ending. Some twists made me feel like older novels did, when the good guys would win last minute and 9 yo me reading under the covers would scream 'I KNEW IT!!!'.
We Do Not Part, by Han Kang (literary/historical fiction, 2021): Han Kang is the 2024 Nobel prize winner for Literature, first Asian and South Korean woman to do so!, known mostly for her 2014 novel 'Human Acts' about the Gwanju Uprising, and her 2007 novel 'The Vegetarian', both of which I read last year. 'We Do Not Part' is the companion piece to 'Human Acts', since it deals with the lasting effects of the Jeju Massacre on the island of Jeju, South Korea, through the eyes of a woman who visits Jeju during a blizzard under the request of a dear friend of hers. It's a chilling, beautifully written, at times oneiric novel that is already a classic. I have a lot of interest in South Korean history, but Han Kang is hands down the most famous South Korean writer in the western world, and for good reason, so it's not like this is a hidden gem. We Do Not Part is my favourite novel of hers for now, a poignant exploration of the history and present of the country. I am no historian but I already knew a lot about the Jeju uprising and massacre before reading the book; I would recommend it anyway for a myriad of reasons. Outside of its heavy subject matter, the way this book describes snow is stuck in my memory forever.
The Sword of Kaigen, by M.L. Wang (fantasy, standalone, 2018): though it is technically a prequel (I didn't read the rest of the series), this rare standalone fantasy is well-known and rightfully well-loved. Made me read 500+ pages in a 72 hour daze, and I LOVED it. The novel follows the Matsuda clan, a family of incredibly powerful water-bender samurais (genuinely the worldbuilding is so COOL in the way when you're 12 you want to have a sick SWORD and be cool) that live at the edges of the Kaiganese empire as the first line of defense against the neighbouring enemy countries. The warrior families of this Peninsula, of which the Matsudas are the de facto leaders, have upheld their beliefs of honour and loyalty to the Empire for centuries without actually changing with the times, but the clash with the evolving world outside of their home might be inevitable. Dual POV from the mother (a 35+ year old woman protagonist???? in this fantasy economy???? I loved her SO MUCH) and her oldest son (my pookie!), beautiful and complex character writing, superb action, sick swords, cool powers, emotions to an all-time high. bottom line: WOAH
James, by Percival Everett (literary novel, 2024): a novel that while recognising the merits of 'Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' by Mark Twain, it also confronts its huge demerits by narrating the story from Jim's POV. It won a bunch of prizes and rightfully so, because it has the markings of a classic. I grew up reading Mark Twain and grew to dislike retellings, but this one is so good, so in control, so heartfelt, it just blew me away. I admit it kind of cracked my head open with a few discussions about racism, because you never stop learning and deconstructing. It's a marvel how thoughtful it can be while remaining a thoroughly engaging novel.
The Husbands by Holly Gramazio (romance, humour, magical realism, 2025): A woman finds out she can have an endless supply of husbands, meaning that she wakes up and she has been married to some random guy for two years, and if she wants to, she can change the husband to a new one by sending him to the attic. The catch is that once the husband has been replaced you can't go back to an older model. A supremely fun premise to talk about dating and the absurdity of CHOOSING ONE person to spend your life with when the possibilities are seemingly endless. At times it made me feel like I was going down a hill with a car with no brakes, just hoping the main character and I would survive the crash. Truly entertaining, I liked the underlying lesson the mc learns in between the madness. Had some of the great qualities of golden age 90s romcom.
NON-FICTION
Dylan Goes Electric! Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night That Split the Sixties, by Elijah Wald (music non-fiction, 2015): OK this was the chain that led me, who never read nonfiction before this year, to this book: I watch the Bob Dylan Chalamett movie -> I realise my ignorance re: Bob Dylan and go on a massive deep dive into his music, fall deeply in love with some of it -> I get curious about how much the movie gets right, see that it is 'inpired' by this book -> I read this book and fall in love with a whole chunk of music history, the one about US folk music in the 60s, that I knew NOTHING about; that chunk of history is deeply linked to Bob Dylan and his success -> I read 3 other Bob Dylan biographies and books about the Folk music of the 60s -> months later, I realise that Yes, Orpheus from Hadestown is kind of inspired by folk musician Pete Seeger from that time. Such is life. A really interesting tangent in my reading history, learned a lot. As it often happens, Black people did it first.
Similarly, I loved the gigantic biography The Brontës, by Juliet Barker, which has made me love the Bronte family SO MUCH, I cried buckets reading about their deaths 800 pages in. It's a massive book that must have been a masterful daunting quest to put together, it includes so much early writing from the Bronte siblings, as well as so many of their letters. If it were written by a less skillfull hand I'd never have been able to finish it I'll admit. After reading this, I thought in Victorian letter style of writing for a month.
