ISSUE #14: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

SEEING ELLIE PLAY IN THE PILES OF LEAVES at our local park brings me back to autumn memories of my own childhood – whether it was escaping on an adventure in the outdoors or virtually being transported by curling up with a timeless classic.

At 132 years old, I can’t ever think of a better book to read in fall than “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” Published in 1885, when Mark Twain was not quite 50, the book remains one of my all-time favorites because it grows with you. It evolved from my first reading in childhood, when I encountered a boy set upon a wondrous adventure filled with exotic characters far beyond my own understanding to reading it as a teen, where we explored the book’s subtext with conversations on politics, history and race. In re-reading this as an adult, I find myself really enjoying and appreciating Twain’s prose, which for the first time in American history, spoke plainly to everyone about the experiences lived here with an emotion that transcends the test of time.