THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER by Mark Twain

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a novel by Mark Twain, originally published in 1876. In this review, I will not attempt to analyze it from any pretentious literary perspective, but rather as just another novel.

In this novel, Tom Sawyer, a boy who lives with his aunt on the Mississippi River in Missouri, has all kinds of adventures, most of which involve misbehaving in some way. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer does not seem to be a coming-of-age story, as it initially may appear to be. Certainly Tom has many experiences that theoretically lend themselves to the maturation process, but at the end, he lapses back into his more childlike behavior. He is a "bad boy" when the book starts, and he is a "bad boy" when it ends (albeit a wealthy and popular one).

Twain's wit is what carries this book. He can write a clever sentence like nobody's business, and his dialogue, characters and story developments are all highly entertaining. Even though there's not a lot going on here plot-wise, the story grips the reader.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is an enormously entertaining book, and if taken purely for entertainment value, will not disappoint any discerning reader.

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