More than just the author of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn
Famous American writer Mark Twain (1835-1910), whose real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, is well known as the author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. But until recently I didn't realize that his literary output was very prolific, and that he had also penned many short stories.
In many ways Twain's writings were shaped his diverse experiences earlier in his life, which included working as a river boat pilot, a journalist, and a printer, and even spent time as a gold prospector and as a vagrant. He's one of America's most recognized writers, and is especially known for his sharp critiques of the social conditions of his day, themes that he often conveyed with biting wit, satire, and humour.
Twain was also a great story-teller, although his frequent use of dialect can sometimes be a barrier for modern readers to easily enjoy his work. Besides his two more famous novels, I've also enjoyed his excellent novel "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court". He also had success with travel books "The Innocents Abroad" and "Roughing It".
But it is particularly his short stories that are the focus of this review. Twain produced a large number of short stories in his time, so I made my starting point in lists of those which are generally considered to be his best. Some of them proved to be disappointing, but listed here are the ones I especially enjoyed and recommend:
– The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County (1865): This humorous story made Twain famous, and tells about a compulsive gambler who trains a frog to jump, and then bets on it.
– The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg (1899): This longer story is really a satirical novella, and features a town noted for its honesty. Their hypocrisy gets exposed when a stranger tempts its citizens with an unclaimed sack of gold coins.
– Luck (1886): More satire, this time as a blundering British military officer becomes a hero through blind luck rather than skill.
– Extracts from Adam's Diary (1904) and Eve's Diary (1906): Adam and Eve write separate diaries about their experiences and interaction with each other in the newly created world. It could be considered somewhat irreverent, so it should be read not as an alternative take on a creation story, but rather as a humorous and clever satire on modern gender roles.
– The Stolen White Elephant (1882): This hilarious story describes the absurd efforts of detectives to find an elephant that has mysteriously gone missing.
The following three stories aren't as well known and celebrated as the above titles, but are ones I also enjoyed immensely and recommend:
– The Californian’s Tale (1892): A sad story about a lonely miner waiting for his wife's return, but with a powerful twist at the end.
– Cannibalism in the Cars (1868): A humorous political satire, in which train passengers in a stranded train carefully follow political procedures to justify murdering each other for survival.
– An Encounter with an Interviewer (1893): Witty dialogue between a journalist and his subject satirizes the absurdity of the nature of interviews.
There's one other novella that deserves mention in light of the recognition it has received:
– The Mysterious Stranger (1916): Twain wrote a couple of versions of this prior to his death, but the cobbled together version published posthumously is the most well-known. A young boy meets a mysterious stranger named Satan, an angel who is a nephew of the real Satan. The premise of the story is used by Twain to explore philosophical questions, and to call into question God's existence in light of human suffering and the nature of free will. Just read the final paragraph of the story to get Twain's own view about God and Christianity; it's not an optimistic perspective.
Recurring features in Twain's short fiction are his frequent criticism of the social conditions and structures of his day, which he mostly communicates through humor, wit, and satire. Sometimes these are clever and entertaining. But Twain isn't always easy to read. His tendency to reproduce the vernacular may have made him popular in his time, but it becomes an obstacle for most modern readers. And although he is highly regarded as a story-teller, there were frequent times I found him repetitive, verbose, or just boring.
While there are glimmers of brilliance in his work, I'm not likely to ever read any more of his short stories – although I know I will certainly enjoy re-reading the stories I've covered above. But despite my personal experience with his short stories, there's no doubt that Twain has undoubtedly had a huge influence on American literature, and will always be considered a literary great.
by EndersGame_Reviewer