Huckleberry Finn

by Mark Twain

Read by Garrick Hagon

UNABRIDGED

Floating down the Mississippi on their raft, Huckleberry Finn and Jim, a runaway slave, find life filled with excitement and the spirit of adventure. Join Huck and Jim and their old friend Tom Sawyer as they come up against low-down thieves and murderers, whilst being chased by Huck’s evil, drunken father who is after Huck’s treasure. It is a trip that you will never tire of.

In this new unabridged recording, Garrick Hagon brings his remarkable powers of vocal characterization to the unforgettable portraits created by Twain.

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9 CDs
Running Time: c.15 hours
ISBN: 9-62634-360-5
Catalogue no: NAX36012
US SRP: $59.98 / CANADA SRP: Can$77.95

Review by Sue Arnold, The Guardian

‘Here is an unabridged edition of Twain’s finest book, read with such unfeigned warmth, humour and gusto by Garrick Hagon that, to coin a phrase, “well, blame me if I says it and call me a lowdown abolitionist if I durst but, thinks I, Mr Twain would mostwise reckon it powerful good, an I ain’t fooling, dog my catch if I ain’t.” That’s the big problem with first-person narratives delivered in the vernacular. Vernon God Little, Angela’s Ashes, anything by William Faulkner and (I’;ll be lynched for saying this) The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time are the same. Unless you’;re familiar with the accent and sympathetic to the tone, they take some getting into on the page. But listening to someone like Hagon, whose repertoire of accents and voices is flawless, you&rsqo;re immediately swept into the story without a hiccup. And what a story. Not for nothing are they called adventures, though so are Tom Sawyer’s and they aren’t a patch on the glorious escapades of the inimitable, irrepressible, incorrigible Huck Finn and Jim the runaway slave.

Here they are floating down the Mississippi on a raft, discussing, along with fishing, smoking and bad omens, the judgment of Solomon. “Says Jim, ‘de man dat think he kin settle a ’spute ’bout a whole chile wid a half a chile doan’ know enough to come in out’n de rain. Doan’ talk to me ’bout Sollermun, Huck, I knows him by de back.’ I never see such a nigger. If he got a notion in his head once there warn’t no getting it out again. He was the most down on Solomon of any nigger I ever see.” Those, incidentally, are just two of the 211 times the word ‘nigger’ crops up in the book and the reason it’s still banned in some US shops. This is a genuine classic, full of laughs and fights and scams and Wild West characters that deserve a wider, younger audience. Don’t miss this brilliant performance.’

Review by Lolly Gepson, Booklist

This classic comic masterpiece tells the adventures of independent Huck Finn and runaway slave Jim. A raft trip down the Mississippi River unmasks the hypocrisy, racism, and savagery of supposedly ‘civilized’ people. In rich tones, Hagon captures Twain’s anecdotal, tongue-in-cheek prose as he re-enacts Huck and Jim’s escape. Sounding like a born storyteller, Hagon recounts lies that get bigger and better and tales that grow more unbelievable. He superbly portrays the duke and the king – charlatans and frauds whose self-serving greed mirrors the double standards of the prejudiced townspeople. He makes each character distinctive, whether sanctimonious or sentimental, feuding or formal, preaching or poaching. Even if some of the writing is politically incorrect by today’s standards, the audio version is top-notch.