Customer Reviews

Mark Twain's burlesque autobiography

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

 

 

It seems strange to be reviewing an author almost a hundred years after his death, but this autobiography is something I did not realize was out there. After downloading Kindle for Mac, I downloaded a number of free books and began reading Twain. His wit and use of English is both enjoyable and inspiring, but one must read carefully. Slowly is even better. The wit is up to the high standard set in Puddin' Head Wilson ("I wish I owned half that dog. I'd shoot my half.), as is the self deprecation, and there is a world of biting social commentary in even the most innocent seeming line. ("He built a commodious jail and put up a gallows, and to his dying day he claimed he had a more restraining and elevating influence on the Indians that any other reformer...") I recommend this highly for other writers who like to read a master at work. One wonders what he might say about being politically correct.

The line that heads this review is also the subtitle of this publication. It too must be a burlesque. This item is described as 24 pages--12 of them are completely blank. One lists only 'Made in USA Lexington KY 18 August 2010' and the bar code. The title page does not include a publisher(probably out of shame) The remaining 10 pages are printed in something resembling typewriter script, a rambling list of notorious ancestors which I imagine could be typical of a spontaneous dinner party expostion by Mr. Clemens. There is no introductory or historical comment giving any information whatsoever as to the source of the text in this "High Quality Paperback."

The soul who pays $75 for the library bound edition must surely receive an wonderful example of the art of fine bookbinding--or they are really ripped off.

This is an 11 page book, typed like a middle school book report. There are over 15 pages of completely blank pages. The binding is similar to what you would find at your local print and copy shop. I havent read it yet, but this is not at all what I expected for a $10 "book"

Twain begins this short piece with a family history that skewers the more typical boasting of ancestors of note. Twain's various euphemisms for the endings of some of his ancestors are delightful.

Aware that the autobiography is rather short, Twain added a short piece of historical fiction, perhaps inspired by the idea of ancestors. This, too, parodies the historical fiction conventions of the day and the ending is distinctly memorable.

There are just a few pages in this "book". Indeed a brochure is probably more like it. Because it is Twain, it is interesting, but definitely not worth paying $10 for!

bought two of these for christmas gifts. what a joke, except that the joke is on me. i will be sending these back. high quality printing my ass. it looks like the typing from typing class in high school. glued together like a book report.
shame.

Twain was the one who said a sucker is born every minute, right? He would have loved this. People can now advertise and sell, to a number of suckers, things described as "books" that are nothing more than shoddy Xeroxes. As more and more real book publishers are driven out of business by people too greedy to pay for a real book with a hard cover we'll see more of this.

I hope no one pays for this. I got it free for my Kindle, and even then, it wasn't worth the trouble. I love Mark Twain, but this little thing (not even a story, really) was quite silly.

I bought this book for my mother who is a writer. She is currently reading it and enjoying it.

Ten pages of sheer dissapointment hardly worth the time I spent ordering let alone the funds shelled out : (
I actually enjoyed the blank pages best.