As part of Freedom To Read Week, Fast Forward Weekly publishes a review of a book that has been banned at some point in its history. This year the Calgary Freedom To Read Week committee has chosen Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn. The book is reviewed here by Allison Inglis, the manager of the Calgary Public Library's Crowfoot branch

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Thank you NewSouth Books, for shining a new light on an old classic. When the publisher recently announced a reissued Adventures of Huckleberry Finn it was ample reason to revisit Mark Twain’s classic American novel. While classics are routinely reissued, this was different. This edition would see slave replace nigger, and Indian in place of injun. The substitution is intended to make the novel friendlier for modern day classrooms. The decision raised a flurry of debate and discussion, just what books should do.

Huck Finn is the classic boys narrative. The naïve youths’ misadventures abound and entwine with Jim the runaway slave. Each tries desperately to escape to freedom. Huck wishes to escape from the realities of an abusive father and Jim, an enslaved life. Throughout, the grand Mississippi river runs true as a metaphor of life. The river’s current, twists and turns, all lead to discovery, maturity and many adventures. Huck begins his adventure watching the world pass as he viewed the river from its bank. For both, the river is their passage to freedom.

Huck grapples with his developing morals, and acknowledges the struggles that Jim faces as a slave. Twain carefully constructs a simple message that illustrates the conflict of slavery, and eases the reader of the day to feel a sort of sympathy for the slaves. Written in 1884, Twain draws attention to the injustices of slavery in a time where prejudices ran as deep as the Mississippi itself.

Huck progresses in his moral dilemma to the point where he decides to fully support his friend Jim to escape slavery. Together they depend upon each other, bridging race through friendship. It is a timeless story. In the end each are freed, Jim of slavery and Huck of his abusive father. Each character is motivated by kindness and companionship, traits that guide their journey to freedom. The journey and adventures symbolize the development of Huck Finn from a naïve child, to that of a young man, aware and in control of his destiny.

Twain makes a clear and poignant commentary on the immorality of slavery. The combination of history, place and delightful humour ensure that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn will remain a cornerstone of American literature. It is well worth reading and re-reading. The novel will undoubtedly remain one of the most challenged books in the United States, regularly banned from libraries and classrooms. Twain’s classic novel is a constant reminder of our freedom to choose what we read. Celebrate your freedom to read everyday.