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soniapage's review
3.0
This 736 page book begins with a lot of miscellaneous stuff about how the book came to be written and edited and other scraps of stories. The actual autobiography begins on page 203 and ends on page 467. The rest is explanatory notes, references, appendices and an index. I'm glad I was able to find an audio version because the reader was great and it went a lot faster than if I had read my heavy copy. Mostly entertaining and informative but there were a lot of blunt and unflattering comments about people Clemens had quarreled with in his lifetime which is probably why he wanted it published long after his death. I enjoyed it but would have liked it more if he had done what he swore not to do: start at the beginning of his life and proceed to the end. My favorite parts were his heartbreakingly fond tributes to his wife and daughters, something men don't usually write. I also enjoyed his wild and funny stories of his youth which, of course, is why I read Mark Twain!
steven_nobody's review
5.0
You don't know how much I am in love with Mark Twain. I'm addicted to his style, to his warmth, and his autism. And I think he personally dictated his autobiography to me. It feels like he chose me as his audience of one. I'm so glad I still have two more volumes!!
__karen__'s review
4.0
I loved this audiobook. Grover Gardner's narration felt like Mark Twain was reading to me. I deducted a star for the introduction (2 hours long!). Otherwise, it was wonderful!
krisrid's review
3.0
I love Mark Twain, and I was very excited to read his autobiograph, after a wait of 100 years! And while I enjoyed hearing Twain's own take on his life and times, the book isn't a fast or easy read by any means.
The style of writing was very different in Twain's time, and so there's plenty of references to things that we don't necessarily understand. This necessitates a huge "Notes" section so you have to flip back-and-forth constantly to clarify various things Twain talks about, i.e. current events of the time that Twain discusses, people he interacts with, etc. The way Twain's writing was edited is very well-handled, but the constant flipping to the Notes is a big distracting and does make this a bit like a text-book.
Still, Twain's unique and irreverant approach to life and writing does come through clearly and there are numerous very entertaining stories he tells. He also doesn't shy away from telling stories that tell the truth about him, and his often bad-mannered behaviour.
Overall, if you are a big fan of Twain the man, you probably want to read this book. But I recommend having something lighter going at the same time so you can take breaks from the ambition you will need to work your way through this tome. It's worth the work, but it is work to read this autobiography
The style of writing was very different in Twain's time, and so there's plenty of references to things that we don't necessarily understand. This necessitates a huge "Notes" section so you have to flip back-and-forth constantly to clarify various things Twain talks about, i.e. current events of the time that Twain discusses, people he interacts with, etc. The way Twain's writing was edited is very well-handled, but the constant flipping to the Notes is a big distracting and does make this a bit like a text-book.
Still, Twain's unique and irreverant approach to life and writing does come through clearly and there are numerous very entertaining stories he tells. He also doesn't shy away from telling stories that tell the truth about him, and his often bad-mannered behaviour.
Overall, if you are a big fan of Twain the man, you probably want to read this book. But I recommend having something lighter going at the same time so you can take breaks from the ambition you will need to work your way through this tome. It's worth the work, but it is work to read this autobiography
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