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pcro99's review against another edition
5.0
I really loved this book. It is Twain at his best. Throw away your questions about the impracticality of it all (suit of armor in the wrong time frame, a modern person somehow understanding middle English etc.) and just take this joy ride.
merel24's review against another edition
3.0
Het idee van dit verhaal vind ik echt geniaal.
Ik vond het heel erg leuk, dat iemand uit de vorige eeuw naar de tijd van Arthur gaat. Het is echt een soort moderne kijk op hoe het er toen aan toe ging en dat is best grappig om te lezen.
De hoofdpersoon is in alle perspectieven een mannelijke Amerikaan. Ik kon me amper inleven in iemand, die zoveel wil veranderen aan zo'n bijzondere tijd. Het is een redelijk oud verhaal, dus hij was nogal seksistisch en behoorlijk discriminerend naar het gewone volk en dat leest niet echt lekker.
Ik vond het heel erg leuk, dat iemand uit de vorige eeuw naar de tijd van Arthur gaat. Het is echt een soort moderne kijk op hoe het er toen aan toe ging en dat is best grappig om te lezen.
Spoiler
De hoofdpersoon is in alle perspectieven een mannelijke Amerikaan. Ik kon me amper inleven in iemand, die zoveel wil veranderen aan zo'n bijzondere tijd. Het is een redelijk oud verhaal, dus hij was nogal seksistisch en behoorlijk discriminerend naar het gewone volk en dat leest niet echt lekker.
cherrie_bluhd's review against another edition
3.0
This book moved through a lot of different spaces, which only feels natural because it was like 400 pages. I think my feelings about this book are complex - Twain asks a lot of interesting questions though about history and progress I really enjoyed considering and was impacted by, even if I didn't really agree with or empathize always with Hank Morgan. I am interested in Connecticut Yankee from a theoretical standpoint (definitely because I read it in an academic space) - particularly its conceptions of queerness between Hank and Clarence, women, and race. I didn't always agree with it, but it made me think and was usually pretty entertaining.
book_concierge's review against another edition
3.0
Audio book performed by William Defris
Hank Morgan is an engineer and machinist in 1879 Connecticut. After a blow to the head that knocks him unconscious, he awakens beneath a tree and discovers he has been transported back some thirteen centuries to King Arthur’s England, A.D. 528. This is the story of his adventures and misadventures in that bygone era.
Satire is not my favorite genre, but I enjoyed parts of this satire immensely. Twain gave us images that made me laugh aloud – e.g. the knights in armor playing baseball or riding bicycles. There were also images that depicted the hard life of that time and place – e.g. the condition of prisoners, the ignorance and poverty of the peasants. Some images were particularly distressing (war and slavery). Twain also included scenes of great tenderness and compassion – e.g. the smallpox hut, or family life.
Twain has our hero using his intelligence and expertise to amaze and convince the populace (including King Arthur and the knights of the round table) of his powers and superiority. But as he continues to make “improvements” (mostly for his benefit), he slowly but surely destroys the civilization he found. Imagine introducing telephones, electricity, Gatling guns, soap, and then the concept of a democratic republic into the 6th century. No wonder they thought him a powerful magician/wizard.
I wondered for a while what exactly Twain’s purpose was, but as I read further it seems clear to me that he was commenting on the current political and social situations of late 19th century America. He has Hank campaign against poverty, the prevailing class system and slavery. And campaign for better wages, improved supply and demand, and literacy for a broader populace. I was somewhat disappointed in the ending. It seemed abrupt, as if Twain had run out of ideas. Still, I can clearly see how this has stood the test of time.
William Defris does a fine job of the audio book. I loved his voices for Hank, Clarence and Sandy.
Hank Morgan is an engineer and machinist in 1879 Connecticut. After a blow to the head that knocks him unconscious, he awakens beneath a tree and discovers he has been transported back some thirteen centuries to King Arthur’s England, A.D. 528. This is the story of his adventures and misadventures in that bygone era.
Satire is not my favorite genre, but I enjoyed parts of this satire immensely. Twain gave us images that made me laugh aloud – e.g. the knights in armor playing baseball or riding bicycles. There were also images that depicted the hard life of that time and place – e.g. the condition of prisoners, the ignorance and poverty of the peasants. Some images were particularly distressing (war and slavery). Twain also included scenes of great tenderness and compassion – e.g. the smallpox hut, or family life.
Twain has our hero using his intelligence and expertise to amaze and convince the populace (including King Arthur and the knights of the round table) of his powers and superiority. But as he continues to make “improvements” (mostly for his benefit), he slowly but surely destroys the civilization he found. Imagine introducing telephones, electricity, Gatling guns, soap, and then the concept of a democratic republic into the 6th century. No wonder they thought him a powerful magician/wizard.
I wondered for a while what exactly Twain’s purpose was, but as I read further it seems clear to me that he was commenting on the current political and social situations of late 19th century America. He has Hank campaign against poverty, the prevailing class system and slavery. And campaign for better wages, improved supply and demand, and literacy for a broader populace. I was somewhat disappointed in the ending. It seemed abrupt, as if Twain had run out of ideas. Still, I can clearly see how this has stood the test of time.
William Defris does a fine job of the audio book. I loved his voices for Hank, Clarence and Sandy.
rainbowbookworm's review against another edition
4.0
Had I read the book I would have probably given it 3 stars, but Offerman's narration brings Twain's words to life in such a way that I found myself swept away with the narrative.
marieintheraw's review against another edition
3.0
I like time traveling to certain times I suppose...
reaperreads's review against another edition
5.0
There are so many contradictions and themes in this novel that are fun to analyze. I suggest reading it with a more open mind than the Yankee.
aggressive_nostalgia's review against another edition
Honestly, not sure what to make of this. I got it as a present for my 14th birthday and am just now finishing it almost three years later. The plot can be extremely confusing, and lags somewhat in places, but has some really interesting parts as well. I like how Hank is forever going on and on about the evils of slavery and poverty and how he keeps trying to convince the people of the superiority of "modern" society - and nobody gets it. The king is hilarious when he's trying to pass himself off as a peasant.
(*be warned - the rest of this review is a profusion of spoilers.*)
The plot is rather slow-moving until the end, at which point the reader is suddenly left saying, "Wait. What just happened?" One minute Hank's converted everything to electricity and has succeeded in eliminating the caste system - and then the king discovers the fling between Guenever and Launcelot and with one big explosion, it's back to oil lamps, rusty armor, slavery, bad haircuts - and in the space of two pages, thirty thousand men are dead, including the entire Round Table, Guenever, and Arthur. Then the main character apparently dies. Then he's not dead, and then he really is dead in the last sentence. It was utterly nonsensical, yet gripping all the same. Somehow, a pretty decent book. The whole thing was generally weird and probably not something I'll read more than say, twice (not counting all the rereading I had to do to get through it the first time). But I've probably rambled long enough and told you next to nothing but the important parts of the book, so I'll shut up now.
(*be warned - the rest of this review is a profusion of spoilers.*)
The plot is rather slow-moving until the end, at which point the reader is suddenly left saying, "Wait. What just happened?" One minute Hank's converted everything to electricity and has succeeded in eliminating the caste system - and then the king discovers the fling between Guenever and Launcelot and with one big explosion, it's back to oil lamps, rusty armor, slavery, bad haircuts - and in the space of two pages, thirty thousand men are dead, including the entire Round Table, Guenever, and Arthur. Then the main character apparently dies. Then he's not dead, and then he really is dead in the last sentence. It was utterly nonsensical, yet gripping all the same. Somehow, a pretty decent book. The whole thing was generally weird and probably not something I'll read more than say, twice (not counting all the rereading I had to do to get through it the first time). But I've probably rambled long enough and told you next to nothing but the important parts of the book, so I'll shut up now.
wesley_sq's review against another edition
2.0
It’s like Sims but in Middle Ages.
2/3 of the story is just meandering.
The beginning is absurd in a good way, the ending is surprisingly riveting. Everything in between seems random and unmotivated. The protagonist is witty at times but mostly bland.
2/3 of the story is just meandering.
The beginning is absurd in a good way, the ending is surprisingly riveting. Everything in between seems random and unmotivated. The protagonist is witty at times but mostly bland.