Somehow, in this book, Mark Twain effortlessly places the reader into the early 1800's in Dawson's Landing, Missouri. Immediately the many characters and personalities of this small mid-western town come to life and you find yourself in the middle of it, simply experiencing daily life among them. After a while, though, you begin to wonder what this story is actually about or if there is even a story here at all. At this very moment, Twain begins to weave together the seemingly unimportant events into an intriguing plot that includes theft, murder, and mystery and concludes with Pudd'nhead's eventual triumph.
Despite the (seemingly) slow start, I found this book enjoyable. Although I wouldn't say that I "couldn't put it down", Twain, in his own unique way, creates in the reader an acute desire to find out how it all works out. His writing oftentimes describes antiquities such as steamboats and duals which affords the reader a chance to enter a world and time that we don't often visit, but generally enjoy when we do.
Appearance: 4/5 - The cover is intriguing as it makes you wonder who the men are and what they may be discussing, but after reading the story I am no closer to answering those questions.
Readability: 4/5 - As I said before, the story seems to get off to a slow start, but makes up for it in the end. Also, when Twain writes from the slaves' perspective, he sometimes goes too far in impersonating their speech, making it difficult to decipher.
My Points: 10/10 - I enjoyed this book. Not to mention I think its the first Mark Twain book I've ever actually read. I'll have to read more.
Total: 18/20
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