For the Guardian, she named her top ten political books for teenagers--"books that may or may not be political but that are definitely bursting with righteous indignation and great ideas"--including:Huckleberry Finn by Mark TwainRead about another entry on the list.
The book begins with this note: Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot.
By order of the Author
Nice try, Mr. Clemens. The story is, of course, a passionate defense of human rights, but it's brilliance, like Part Time Indian, is that it doesn't preach. No one is ever, ever allowed to rear up on their hind legs to deliver a heartbreaking monologue about the evils of slavery or racism. Twain simply can't spare the space, he's too busy trying to cram as much fun as he can into every paragraph.
Huckleberry Finn is among Dan Ariely's six top books about, or by, liars, Josh Lacey's top ten pseudonymous books, Katie Couric's favorite books, James Gray's six best books, and John Mullan's lists of ten of the best literary men dressed as women, ten of the best vendettas in literature and ten of the best child narrators in literature. It is one of Stephen King's top ten works of literature. Director Spike Jonze and the Where the Wild Things Are film team tagged Huckleberry Finn on their list of the top 10 rascals in literature.
--Marshal Zeringue
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