The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Using a script delightfully faithful to the original, Ned Chaillet directs an all-Canadian cast in this co-production of the BBC and CBC. The story is priceless, relating Huck Finn's escape down the Mississippi with an escaped slave and the adventures they encounter along the way. Cast direction is quite good, as are the performances themselves, but the choice of actors Christopher Jacot as Huck and Peter Oldring as Tom makes it difficult to suspend disbelief--according to Twain's text, Huck is 12 or 13 years old while the actors sound like adults. Music composed of fiddle, guitar, and harmonica riffs is used more effectively than the sound effects, which at times are awkward. Originally broadcast in December 2002, the Canadian production also features Martin Roach as Jim and Mark Caven as Mark Twain. S.E.S. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine


Twain's classic of American realism is given a serviceable narration by Garrick Hagon, who voices the many personalities and dialects clearly. What is missing is the sense of wonder the boy-narrator experiences from lying on a raft and looking at the sky, from noticing the beauties of the majestic river and its traffic, and especially (in Chapter 31) from his soul-shaking battle with his conscience, one of the great passages of world literature. Pace is another casualty. Hagon maintains a mostly consistent pace, which fails at times to capitalize on some of the dramatic moments. In sum, this is a respectful reading of a famously disrespectful book, so this unabridged recording is welcome but not definitive. G.H. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine