If you’ve been reading for a while, you know that I’m not generally the type of book reviewer who gives scathing reviews. I know the work and love that goes into books, and if I don’t like something, my instinct is to keep it to myself and only highlight the titles I’ve enjoyed. This newsletter is called “What to Read Next” for a reason; it’s pretty clear that the books featured are going to have my stamp of approval.
I love Huck Finn, and think it's one of America's great masterworks. If we're uncomfortable with the language, it's because we're uncomfortable with our history, but no one has written more penetratingly about race or skewered the era's white supremacists more devastatingly than Twain (who you'll recall was writing AFTER the Civil War and was really commenting on Reconstruction policy).
I love Huck Finn, and think it's one of America's great masterworks. If we're uncomfortable with the language, it's because we're uncomfortable with our history, but no one has written more penetratingly about race or skewered the era's white supremacists more devastatingly than Twain (who you'll recall was writing AFTER the Civil War and was really commenting on Reconstruction policy).
I highly recommend Robert McCammon's Swan Song. It was a divergent read for me and is now one of my favorite books!