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The Annotated Uncle Tom's Cabin by Henry Louis Gates Jr., Harriet Beecher Stowe, Hollis Robbins
connell98's review against another edition
2.0
Uncle Tom's Cabin is important to read in an academic sense, but it is very problematic by today's standards. I think one of the things that we have to understand about this book is the historical context and purpose of this book, which many people SEVERELY overlook or ignore.
AT THE TIME, this book aided in prompting emotion to spark action in passive Northerners and on-the-fence Southerners. It had its role in mentioning the issues of slavery, but it really did not do anything. No matter how often we want to mention Lincoln telling Beecher Stowe she aided in starting in Civil War, this book is inactive (on an authorial note).
Additionally, idolizing characters such as Uncle Tom is HIGHLY problematic. He represents a dedicated yet SUBMISSIVE slave, which is what people believed the ideal black man to be. The fact that people romanticize this character shows the ignorance that people have in labeling this piece as high quality.
If you read this, you HAVE to recognize the issues that are present, or at least be willing to recognize them.
AT THE TIME, this book aided in prompting emotion to spark action in passive Northerners and on-the-fence Southerners. It had its role in mentioning the issues of slavery, but it really did not do anything. No matter how often we want to mention Lincoln telling Beecher Stowe she aided in starting in Civil War, this book is inactive (on an authorial note).
Additionally, idolizing characters such as Uncle Tom is HIGHLY problematic. He represents a dedicated yet SUBMISSIVE slave, which is what people believed the ideal black man to be. The fact that people romanticize this character shows the ignorance that people have in labeling this piece as high quality.
If you read this, you HAVE to recognize the issues that are present, or at least be willing to recognize them.
sialia95's review against another edition
This book is honestly terrible but should be read for a lens into the politics of the time. It feels wrong to rate it high because I cringed the whole time but it feels wrong to rate it low because it's so historically important so I've abstained from rating it at all
birdybutt24's review against another edition
1.0
James Baldwin said that Uncle Tom's Cabin was "a very bad novel," claiming that it was overly sentimental, and this betrayed its "aversion to experience." As such it is "the signal of secret and violent inhumanity, the mask of cruelty," in its dependence on its "description of brutality." I agree with his argument that the book fails to address why white people would engage in such violent acts. I also found its religious sentiments really tough to swallow.
francescaranck's review against another edition
5.0
This was a great book, and fantastic if you want something to make you think. Just know it's not the light-reading type. I wish I could say more to do it justice, and hopefully, I'll get to a better review someday. Anyway, my main takeaway is that I'm disappointed that more people haven't read it particularly because of how people today could benefit from it. But also that to be called an " Uncle Tom" is derogatory. It makes me want to ask " Have you actually read the book?". Because honestly, I feel like it's more of a compliment, considering the things he went through, and yet at the end of the day, he loved unconditionally and just wanted to please the Lord. He was truly courageous and people are fools to see that as " submissiveness". Anyway, a great read, and a definite one for your book bucket list. Props to you, Harriet Beecher-Stowe, saying what a lot of people were ( and continue to be) too scared to say.
stacym's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Slavery, and Racial slurs
heidi_mcj's review against another edition
3.0
Not my favorite book. The writing was very stilted and hard to get through. Even though I didn't enjoy the story, I can see how this book would have been amazing for its time.
blueflatfoot's review against another edition
5.0
Stowe brilliantly concretizes the culture and the ideas surrounding slavery in America leading up to the war. Having just read and listened to lectures on the history and arguments surrounding this institution, I am impressed by her ability to weave the arguments prevalent in the culture of that period into moving fiction. Her dialog is intelligent and well written. The events of the story illustrate the ideas. This is an emotionally moving and intellectual novel.
book_nerd_1's review against another edition
5.0
To me it gets a little too bogged down in religion and I would have liked more of George and Eliza but still a great book everybody should read.