Pudd'nhead Wilson and Those Extraordinary Twins (1894)

Not as funny as some Twain's other books, but still an enjoyable story. I found the second part, Those Extraordinary Twins, to be pretty weak, though Twain even seems to admit that. It was the original story that was later removed to make way for Pudd'nhead Wilson's tale. ( )

This book had been sitting on my shelves for many, and I mean many, years. I finally read it and what a pleasure! I was gripped by this "prince and pauper" tale. It is a gripping story with fantastic characters. It addresses social issues (slavery), character flaws, family issues, and general difficulties faced by just being human. Twain opens each chapter with a couple of so-called entries to Pudd'nhead's personal calendar which are pithy quips. My two favorites appear at the beginning of the same chapter. First, "He is useless on top of the ground; he ought to be under it, inspiring the cabbages". Second, on April Fool's Day, "This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four". Additionally, my Signet edition has an afterword by the author in which he explains the evolution of the novella from an idea, and it is worth just reading this alone.....almost. ( )

It's always difficult to review a classic, because it must be considered both for the modern reader as well as the audience for which it was written.

Twain's commentary on race relations, as always, is top notch. His understanding of human nature shines out, and the taste of what life is like in a small town at this time is matchless. Also, as a historical side note, we find the first ever use in literature of fingerprinting as trial evidence.

The story is not a mystery, but rather character study that is resolved in the way that a mystery novel is often resolved. Do not enter into the book expecting a modern mystery story, because those elements do not enter until the last few chapters.

If you're a fan of Twain, read it. If you haven't explored him before, you should start with his better known works first, and move on from there. ( )

Pudd'nhead Wilson can be described as Mark Twain's attack on racial prejudice in the guise of a mystery. The novel begins with a young slave woman, fearing for her infant's son's life, exchanging her light-skinned child with her master's. From this rather simple premise Mark Twain has created an entertaining, funny, yet biting novel. On its surface, Pudd'nhead Wilson possesses all the elements of a mystery: reversed identities, a horrible crime, an eccentric detective, a suspenseful courtroom drama, and a surprising solution. Yet it is not a mystery novel. This book reveals the real criminal--society, and racial prejudice and slavery are the crimes. 4 out of 5 stars. ( )

An odd mix of Twain’s work, Pudd’nhead Wilson combines the character swapping from The Prince and the Pauper and the race drama in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. It was not at all what I was expecting. The title character, Pudd’head, is actually the cleverest person in the book.

Roxy is a slave, but is only 1/16th African. Her son is only 1/32nd African and in a moment of desperation she switches her son with her master’s child. The boys are almost identical and after the switch they are raised in their new lives with no knowledge of the past. Years later things become even more complicated as Roxy tried to reconcile the man her real son has become.

The other major theme of the book is a very early look at the use of forensic evidence in detective work. It feels like common knowledge to us now, but at the time fingerprinting was a completely foreign concept. Throw in some twins from another country, a gambling problem and some bad choices and you’ve got a novel.

It’s a strange book, one that doesn’t quite feel like Twain. It has some of his trademarks elements; a sharp wit, commentary on race relations, etc., but it’s unique in some other respects. It feels disjointed and a bit thrown together. I read a bit from Twain after I finished the book and he talked about how he set out to write one book and found himself in the midst of another. I think the plot reflects that and in the end it’s not one of his best.

BOTTOM LINE: If you really like Twain, definitely check it out. If you’re new to his work I would check out Huck Finn or Tom Sawyer before this one.

“When angry count four, when very angry swear.” ( )