Customer Reviews

Huck Finn & Tom Sawyer Among the Indians

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Once again I wish I could give a book a negative number of stars due to the poor quality of the book.

Lisa G. from UT and the book's promotional material try to lead you to believe that the transition from the Twain text and the Nelson text is seamless, when the truth is that the change is so abrupt and annoying that I could hardly finish reading the book. Twain starts the book as another narrative written by Huck Finn. When Nelson takes over, the voice of Huck Finn disappears to be replaced by some sort of stilted, sportscaster style of reporting events as they unfold. While Twain would have Huck write something similar to "I warn't cornsarned about how far he would get. He lit on his horse and high tailed it out of there. I dasn't call out to him. I dasn't resk it.", Nelson would write that same passage: "I don't worry. He gets on his horse and rides out. I don't risk calling out to him." The style is so stilted it is very painful to read. Ironically Nelson seems to try to defend this style in his introduction by pointing out that Twain has Huck drift in and out of the past and present tense. This is true to some extent, but Twain tends to restrict the use of present tense to passages containing a lot of dialogue. Appropos of dialogue, Twain writes more dialogue than Nelson, most likely because Nelson is incapable of writing authentic dialogue in the dialects that Twain had given them (particularly in the case of Jim). Nelson seems to think that some sort of pidgin English is the equivalent of the dialects spoken by Twain's characters.

As far as the story goes, it just isn't consistent with anything Twain would have written. The relationship between Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn doesn't ring true, nor does the relationship between Jim and any of the other characters. Somehow Tom and Huck age about eight years in the course of a single summer. Nelson (LDS himself) introduces Mormonism into the story and seems so intent on portraying it in a positive light that he even goes so far as to bring in the real life LDS criminal assasins Porter Rockwell and Bill Hickman, portraying them as some sort of wild West heroes equal to Wyatt Earp. Anybody who knows anything about Twain knows that he had nothing but disdain for the LDS.

If you are a real Twain fan, you won't want to read this. Even the parts that Twain wrote were not edited and there are a few places where it is apparent that Twain would have changed what he wrote had he continued this work. You also won't want to suffer through the butchery of the characters that Nelson performs. If you are not a fan of Twain, you won't want to read it either.

Mark Twain is turning in his grave with the existence of this book. The author petitioned to get the rights to finish the book and then completed the story in unparalled historical revisionist style.

Here are the major objections.

First, Mark Twain would not have written anything that is so clearly intended to promote the Mormon agenda. If you don't believe me, consider this. The author has Tom Sawyer converting to Mormonism because it's the first religious book that he's read that's made sense.

In addition to the blatant Mormon propoganda, Lee Jordan completely contradicts the many historians who have established the battle between the Mormons, settlers crossing to California, native Americans and the US government. If a native American read this book, they'd be outraged to know that the author assigns the savage behavior completely to the native Americans.

In addition to other complaints, Lee Jordan introduces violent themes unnecessarily. The transition from Twain is NOT seamless and to market this book or tape under his name is an outrage!

Lee Nelson wrote a terrible story. The Mark Twain portion of the book is barely readable but Nelsons part is a horror, an Old West/LDS spawned abomination that drags on and on. Through the reoccurring floods of indignation I could not shake the feeling that Nelson was trying to work in all the weird bits of useless Western information he has at his disposal, for example, the mice and honey feast added nothing whatsoever to the story, it merely increased my contempt for this lame tale.
The characters were unbelievable and impossible to become attached to. I did not recognized, and will not acknowledge; the whinning, uncertain Tom Sawyer, the sensitive, thoughtful, careful, gunslinging(!) Huck Finn, or ultra thickheaded Jim, whom I thought would leave the Indians as soon as he could and at least make an attempt to return to his wife and children (wrong!).
Nelson needs to spend more time researching his subjects before writing a book like this. Basic fact finding skills are important as we can see from the glaring ommissions, flaws and obvious glossing over of the nasty spots, most notably in regards to the Mormon faith and their activities in the early West.

I am a big fan of M. Twain's writing but after reading this vile monstrosity I am left with an unshakable icky feeling, that a literary Nobody can take one of the best loved characters in literature and reform him, (Nelson thinks he's better than the Widow Douglas) turn him into a boring, mooning, pistol packing, Mormon, living in the Old West without a longing for his former haunts or the River his name is nearly synonymous with. Abominable!
What a horrible story, I came to hate these characters, every one! (Not Twain's characters, Nelson's, there is a huge difference.)

Quickly people, read the originals and right your world!

My Opinion-- If you want to know what Lee Nelson's daydream fantasy world is like then read this unbearable book.

As an LDS reader, I wanted this book to be good. It wasn't.

First of all, Nelson clearly does not know these characters at any more than a superficial level. Since the book takes place shortly after Huck and Jim's adventure down the Mississipi, Nelson should have known the approximate age of both Huck and Tom (about 13). He also should have remembered that one of the reasons Jim ran away is so that he could by or steal back his wife and children back in Missouri. The fact that Jim would run off to Indian country, or that Huck would do so without getting Jim to his family first, is ludicrous.

Secondly, Nelson has no ear for dialect. While I can give him some slack since he didn't grow up among these people as did Twain, what he does with Huck's narration and the little dialog is painful to read. It isn't even close.

Finally, the plot itself is weak. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is far more than adventure story; it is a novel of complex characterization and a real message about how the South was still treating African Americans nearly 20 years after the Civil War. Nelson apparently only sees this as another Twain adventure story (with only a superficial nod sexism and child abuse). I would venture to say that the only reason that Twain even started this story was to make money to pay his chronic debts.

Just another bit. Some reviewers claim that Nelson tries to show LDS pioneers in a positive light. I couldn't disagree more. He shows Bill Hickman as he was, not really heroic at all (and Huck would not have gushed over him). The handcart pioneers really get little treatment and polygamy is shown as Mormon men lusting after women and not at all favored by Mormon women, which WAS NOT the typical situation.

Do yourself a favor and don't waste your time or money on this book.

You would think this book would be a fun adventure book to learn about the West. Do not let children read it. The Indians and traders are perverts who trade children as sex slaves. Then the Army comes in and the one of the generals sexually abuses the boys. I'm so upset reading this book. No wonder I had never heard about it. It's just a horrible book. I stopped reading half way through. I'm going to tell the library to pull it from the children's section of books. So, so sad that Nelson messed up a Twain book like this. Also as I skimmed the second half I could see how it was all about promoting Mormonism and finding "Great Salt Lake City".

Some critics didn't like the Twain/Nelson collaboration, saying Nelson failed to match Twain's high standards. I think Nelson made Huck's travels more varied and interesting than Twain would've done. The ending is especially fitting, as Huck--the boy without prejudice against blacks, Indians, or "defiled" women--gets a well-deserved reward.

Huck and Tom is a cross between a rollicking boys' adventure and an Old West travelogue. Sure, it has flaws, but it's worth reading. Rob's rating: 8.0 of 10.

For more on the subject, see:

[...]

Huck Finn & Tom Sawyer Among The Indians presents a manuscript, written by American literary legend Mark Twain, written as a sequel to his classic novel "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" but which was left unfinished - in the middle of a climactic confrontation, no less. Long after Mark Twain's passing, ardent fan and scholar Lee Nelson gained approval of the Mark Twain Foundation (who were the legal holders of the copyright to Mark Twain's unfinished work), and finished the story with a flavor and a style as close to the feel of the original author, as well as an abiding hope that Mark Twain himself would approve even if modern-day literary scholars did not. The result is a fantastic adventure story, that revisits Huck, Tom, and Jim - when a group of Sioux Indians commits murder and kidnaping, Huck and Tom must mount a rescue to save the surviving victims, including Jim himself. Huck Finn & Tom Sawyer Among The Indians is an absolute "must-read" for anyone who enjoyed Mark Twain's original Huckleberry Finn classic.

Lee Nelson seems to channel Mark Twain in this riveting story of further adventures of Huck and Tom. Had I not known that a second author (in modern times) penned the majority of the book, I would not have noticed; it feels like Twain all the way. I had to specifically follow the reference to identify where Twain ended and Nelson began. This book is full of adventure, discovery, romance, friendships and loyalty, and it deepened my enthusiasm and respect for Mark Twain. It also introduced me to another great author, Lee Nelson.
I challenge you to read this book without looking for the division, and I dare you to find a break between Twain and Nelson. This book could be included in an official Twain study. Huck Finn lives!