THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN

Huckleberry Finn has had a rough life, enduring protests and book bans by generations of readers unfamiliar with the concept of irony. Revisiting a novel only dimly remembered from high school is always a treat, but Huck Finn still presents its challenges. Can a narrator stay true to the text without lapsing into caricature, especially in the case of Jim, the runaway slave? Michael Prichard does it rather well, giving Jim a distinctive voice without exaggeration. As most of the book is carried by Huck's own narrative, though, a more youthful voice than Prichard's might have been appropriate. Still, he does a good job with the dialect, and his pace is suitably laconic. As Huck might say, by and by, a body does get used to it. D.B. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 03]