I read Harriet Beecher Stowe‘s Uncle Tom’s Cabin this week, in a free Kindle edition. I’m not sure what I expected, but the book was better than I anticipated, with wit, wonderful descriptions, action, suspense, layers of story upon story, amazing characterizations, and surprise twists. I learned some history, which I like to do while reading. I can see why it could be a bestseller in its day, which it was. I can also see why it could prick the conscience of a person or a nation, and stir up some action, which it did.
I am inclined to quibble with the author over a few small points (Christians do not become angels when they die, for instance – but they become heavenly beings, so, well, let’s let it go). But on the whole I am quite impressed with the author, her knowledge, and her storytelling skill. I’m also glad I read the book, because it was a tremendously influential book in its day, and I think reading it helped me understand America a bit better.
I’m going to refrain from a usual sort of review, though, because I’m afraid it would involve spoilers. Suffice it to say that if you think that Uncle Tom is a black person who sells out to white folks, you obviously have not read the book. That’s an insane use of the name, really. Simply flat insane.
(For more book reviews, check out this week’s The Saturday Review of Books at Semicolon.)
I read this over the summer, finally, after having it on my list of should-read books for a long, long time. I thought it would be slow, but it really wasn’t. It was old-fashioned, but the intersecting plots were quite compelling. It really is worth reading, even now.
Two people have strongly recommended this book to me, but I keep putting it off because it’s so long. Maybe I’ll get to it in 2012!