Review: Rating a classic is ridiculous...
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 11, 2014
It's Uncle Tom's Cabin, for pete's sake. If you have not read it, you might want to take a look. This particular Kindle version is not flawless, but it's most readable and any glitches in the transcription are usually ignored if you get caught up in the narrative as I did.We all know the basic story, I think, or at least people of my generation did...and that's old enough to know this book if you're nosy.  But reading it is an experience.  Written for an audience of a previous century, the language still captivates, giving us the feeling of listening to conversations. The action may seem a little familiar to those of us who've read anything from "12 Years a Slave" to "Roots," and the characters a little naive or stereotyped, but remember, at the time, this was new stuff.Uncle Tomming is a slur today, but Uncle Tom of the novel was a man of honor who tried his best to get along in a set of circumstances that most of us can't even imagine.  He had dignity. It's easy to discount him...after all, Tom didn't have the benefit of 200 years foresight to know that doing his job well was bowing to slavery. He answered to himself first, I think.  He set his own standards. That these improved the lot of his white owners may gall us, but we need to accept that the man's actions represent him.  Simon Legree can be a cartoon, the evil overseer, who mistreats his superior's human chattel. But we also know that the kind of power a stupid man like Legree can get hold of us usually corrupted.  Eliza, Little Eva...we've seen them before and in more contemporary wardrobe. These are where those more politically astute versions came from and it serves a purpose to get to know it.I feel foolish rating a novel that has influenced an entire genre of books, helped put an end to an institution of such tremendous evil, and was a rallying cry for those people who would overturn slavery.  But putting that aside and reading it as a period piece, just another book, and basing the rating on how compelling it was, how much I enjoyed reading it, how much I learned and any insights I gained, and if I'd recommend it to a friend who wanted something good to look at, I'm going with five stars.  And a recommendation that people...especially younger people take a look.