The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Great book. Fits on the genres. Couldn’t recommend this book more!

This version is a digitally generated narration. On the plus side, the voice is very clear, but on the negative, Mark Twain’s characters lose their personality when read by a computer. I’m sure it works well for other books, but this is one worth finding a human reader for.

I haven't read this in many decades, so I was delighted with how well the book has held up. (Yes, there were a few things that smacked of racism, but not as much or as bad as I had feared. I refuse to cancel Mark Twain because he never seems to be mean-spirited in his casual racism and he's a good writer.) I did not remember all of Tom's many adventures, but I can imagine his story inspiring many a young child to hunt for treasure or play at being pirates. I smiled throughout the reading in thinking about how free children once were to roam and play and use their imaginations.

An excellent novel of a boy's adventures in ante-bellum Missouri. I read this as a child and took it seriously. Now that I'm an adult, I notice how much of it is humorous. Some of it, like the death of Injun Joe, is grim however you take it. Necessary reading to get the most out of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn". Tom's bookish imagination, and determination to translate it into reality, makes him a very sympathetic character.

I think it's usual for many readers not to realize that what Twain is writing is an historical novel depicting a time, the 1840s, that was 35 years gone by the time he wrote.

I love the book because it is a classic, and accurately portrays life during that time, but I still struggle with the language in the book, even though I know times were different then. That being said, the core values of working hard and obeying authority are values I would love see return to America. It is a great read as a student or as someone who wants to understand more about country life and the past.

Book title and author: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (by Mark Twain). Reviewed 5/15/23.

Why I picked this book up: I was selected for early review in LibraryThing for The Banned Books Compendium: 32 Classic Forbidden Books by Gringory Lukin (Editor. I read one book out if order w so I went back and read this one next.

Thoughts: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is an 1876 novel by Mark Twain about a boy growing up along the Mississippi River. It is set in the 1840s in the town of St. Petersburg, which is based on Hannibal, Missouri, where Twain lived as a boy. In the novel, Tom Sawyer has several adventures, often with his friend Huckleberry Finn. Originally a commercial failure, the book ended up being the best selling of Twain's works during his lifetime. Though overshadowed by its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the book is considered by many to be a masterpiece of American literature. It was one of the first novels to be written on a typewriter.
Tom Sawyer was deemed to be a bad role model for kids, which led to the book being excluded from the children's room in the Brooklyn, N.Y. Public Library (1876) and the Denver, Colo. Public Library (1876). More recently, it was removed from the seventh grade curriculum in the West Chester, Pa. schools (1994) after parents complained that it is too full of racially charged language.
Entire countries ended up banning[…]”. (Unknown author of this snippet in this book. Pg 2096

Why I finished this read: this book: I found this book interesting, crazy boring, lame at time, funny at times and sometimes difficult to continue but I finished it to complete this next book in this arranged compendium. This was like reading a little boys thoughts and seeing him wanting to be older than he is.

Stars rating: it is a classic, not one of my favorites at all but I rated it at 2 of 5. I could have stopped reading it and could have skipped it and not been sad about that choice. I wouldn’t recommend this book.

When choosing to read this book, one has to keep in mind that it is a reflection of the time in which it was written, and therefore has language that reflects the views of the day and is no longer appropriate. That can make reading this a little sour, but overall it's a decent story. One thing that I think is done well is how the children actually seem like children and not just tiny adults. It is a very adventurous story and ties up the loose ends quite nicely. It's not a bad book, but I probably won't reread it.

Wonderful story. I loved reading this one. Combines action, comedy and interesting comments.

I haven’t read this since I was a kid. Revisiting it as an adult, I have a different appreciation for the remarkable portrayal of American childhood in the mid-1800’s. For those complaining about the racism in the language, I would only say look beyond your own prejudices and recognize the talent on display and be thankful we have learned to look beyond the once accepted ideas about other races.

This one will go on my list to periodically reread because it is classic Americana of a world long gone. Some of what was lost should have been kept.

Rereading classics is good however the story is ruined by the ugliness of racism hits you square in the face.

Having read Huckleberry Finn as a child I did not comprehend Mark Twain's genius. Reading Tom Sawyer as an adult really demonstrated why he deserves his places as one of America's greatest authors. A delight to read and a book I would recommend to nearly anyone. Normally I dislike reading books to which I know the ending but even with all the information I gleaned about Tom Sawyer from popular culture this book was a surprise and treat.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a novel about a young boy growing up in the 1840s in the Mississippi River-side town of St. Petersburg, Missouri (inspired by Hannibal, Missouri where Mark Twain, the author, grew up). Tom is a smart and mischievous boy who knows how to get what he wants and gets out of trouble in very unique ways.

I will admit, it took me 27 years to read this book. In some ways I'm glad I waited, if only because of the forward Twain put in the front of the book:

"Although my book is intended mainly for the entertainment of boys and girls, I hope it will not be shunned by men and women on that account, for part of my plan has been to try to pleasantly remind adults of what they once were themselves, and of how they felt and thought and talked, and what queer enterprises they sometimes engaged in."

I did love the energy that only a child can have that was written in this. The way that Tom and Huck would argue about varies superstitions and reason to run away (to be pirates or like Robin Hood). Twain does a tremendous job at reminding me what it's like to be a kid again. The novel also gives a view of what it was like growing up in America at that time.

It was a bit hard for me with the dialect and accents the way they were written, but it wasn't anything that softly reading aloud didn't help. That's just me being a weird silent reader.

Finished reading this again while the power was out on the island and I couldn't work.

I think I've read this at least five times. There are some books that are simply woven so tightly into the warp and woof of the American experience that they will always rate five stars, and this is one of them.

One of the greatest novels I have read. Such fun adventure. Made me wish I was a kid again.

Classic in every sense. Something new every time you read it.

This tells the story of a boy, Tom Sawyer, and his best friend, Huck Finn, and some of the adventures they get into. Some of those adventures include ghosts, haunted houses and treasure.

I listened to an audio version of this one, narrated by William Dufris. The narrator was very good with amazing expressions, but my mind wandered, anyway. The one mostly couldn't hold my interest. Because of that, I missed a lot, so initially, it almost felt like these were short stories, rather than a novel. A lot of the same characters did return later, and I think storylines were picked up again later, but it was hard to connect everything because I just hadn't focused enough. However, the parts of the book that I did catch, I thought were cute. And, I have to give bonus points for the narrator, so an “o.k.” 3 stars it is.

Tom is an endearing character. He is smart, mischievous, adventurous and causes a lot of trouble for his aunt. But he is kind and loves his aunt. He protects his 'girlfriend' by covering for her, owning up to something he didn't do. And you can't help laughing at some of his antics, for example persuading his friends to whitewash the wall for him. I suppose this is why this book is a classic.

Even though this book is well over a century old it still holds up! It's funny, witty, and remarkably insightful into the head of a mischievous young boy. The games, and clothes, and manners may have changed; but kids would still be easily able to relate to the games that Tom Sawyer and his friend Huckleberry Finn play. From pirates to adventurers, they know how to have fun with practically nothing but their imagination. And the trouble, lord these two boys know how to get in trouble and worry their families half to death. From running away, getting lost in caves, witnessing a murder and more, Tom Sawyer is the king of trouble. A must read classic!

I think I was supposed to read this in college. But never did. There were more important things to do like... (never mind).

It was time to make up for the mistakes of my youth and take in a classic. That the audiobook was narrated by Nick Offerman was a bonus that moved Tom Sawyer to the top of my to-read list.

Borderline 3.5 stars, but not quite. Mainly because I didn't begin to truly enjoy the story until 2/3 of the way through.

This is the first time I have ever read Mark Twain, and wanted to read this as a precursor to Huck Finn. I respect Mark Twain and his influence on many popular authors. For me, this particular novel does not hold water against some of the other American greats (Steinbeck, Edgar Allen Poe, Hawthorne, Harriet Beecher Stowe, etc).

A lot can be said in regards to the portrayals of African-Americans and Native Americans in the book (particularly the character "Injun Joe"), and Tom Sawyer is often censored or banned due to the language. Without a doubt, parts of the novel were certainly uncomfortable to this modern reader. I actually appreciated this, as it gives a glimpse of what life was like--from the perspective of Mississippi River dwelling, Southern, white children--in the pre-Civil War South. Racism and all. I enjoyed the satirical approach and exaggeration to some of the customs and superstitions of that community during that time period.

Having said that, I concurrently read some of Twain's (Sam Clemens') other writings on American Indians, and it is atrocious. Product of the times or not, it left a bitter aftertaste while reading Sawyer. Hence the 3 stars.

I do feel any use of this text in school should include a discussion on racism, fear, discrimination, freedom, etc.

I've returned to the river.

A year ago I spent a weekend on the Missouri River attending a Writers Workshop. In typical Chris Blocker fashion, I thought it prudent to read something riverish. I selected Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi. Thus a new association was born and once I decided I was returning to the river, one of my first considerations was what Mark Twain book I'd read this year.

I was hesitant to get into the Tom Sawyer/Huckleberry Finn story-arc. I had a feeling I'd be underwhelmed or offended. I was leaning toward a different selection, but at the last minute, I decided to go with a classic. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer wasn't that bad—not as bad as I imagined it could be—but it certainly didn't impress me too much. Part of the issue is that Tom Sawyer feels slightly underdeveloped—ideas are used seemingly haphazardly and are recycled throughout the story. And part of the issue is that some of the novels better moments have become cliché. I recognize that Twain was likely the originator of some of these ideas—at least he was probably the prominent figure who introduced them into the American narrative. But I've seen enough Our Gang to know that children who play pirates will find treasure, children who fake death will convince everyone, and that little boys will always win a kiss from the girl of their dreams. It's not Twain's fault that his story has been resurrected repeatedly, but the familiarity minimized any sense of wonder and adventure I might have had had I come across this book 130 years ago.

In a different time, this book may have had a much different impact on me. This is a strong story of adventure from a unique child-like perspective. Those who enjoy a little swashbuckling or hijinx will likely eat this story up like blackberry pie. (Why blackberry pie? I don't know. It just feels like something I'd expect from these characters.) With a different person, there would've been different results: I'm not one for adventure; I was never a child. It's a good, simple story, very much plot-driven, but I didn't see much else to it.

Sadly, this book didn't hold to the river like I thought it would. There are a few mentions, a few explorations, but I have the notion that Huckleberry Finn is the more river-centric of the two. Will I explore the river someday with Huck? I don't know. I probably should, but I have the same hesitance I did with Tom Sawyer. Maybe I'll leave it up to the river. If it's able to pull me back another time, I'll consider it.

One point less for mocking Christianity

One of the books that I thought I had read but hadn't. It rushes along, adventure after adventure, capturing what it is is to be a child growing up.

I'd forgotten what a little trouble maker Tom was. It was a nice enjoyable read.

I had never read the Adventures of Tom Sawyer except in a childhood version in Golden Books or something like that. I skipped right over to read Huck Finn. While this is definitely a children's book in many ways, Twain writes in such a way that adults still enjoy Tom and his picaresque adventures, both as nostalgia for our own childhoods and because the adult voice of Twain cannot help inserting his snide commentaries on humanity.

Most Famous Books Set In Each Of The 50 States - Missouri

Tom Sawyer is a young man growing up in a small Missouri town. This book recounts the various lies, mischief and various adventures he gets into with the neighborhood boys. Huckleberry Finn is his frequent brother in arms and the pair managed to witness a murder at midnight in the graveyard. Though they swear each other to secrecy Tom soon finds himself testifying to save the life of an innocent man. Later on, they will tangle again with the same murderer, this time over a buried treasure.

A charming story of childhood, superstition and small town country life.

I am adding this book as one of our family read-alouds. While often read by high school students as "classic" literature, this book proved a hit with my family audience, ages 8, 14,17 and middle aged.
It is funny and suspenseful and the characters are vivid, all requirements for making it on our read aloud picks.

I really doubted this book would be a thriller, or energetic to read. This book makes you want to fall asleep while reading it. I am so sorry, but this book had so many POV'S I could not keep up. MY REVIEW; This book was a serious letdown. I thought there would be more action because it tells about a boys and his friends life in this story. NO ACTION. I liked some parts like when they were trying to find treasure and couldn't find it for like 3 chapters! No. Terrible absolutely did not like the writing. There was also different related stories to read while you finish Tom Sawyer but I decided NOT to read it.

My dad read this book to me as a kid and I loved it. I had the best time re-reading it as an adult - remembering parts of the dialogue I knew by heart and enjoying the social satire bits that don't always register when you're a kid. A classic!

My advice would be to drop whatever you're reading and read this now, before you're thirty-eight and can appreciate it but never love it.