Becky: The Life and Loves of Becky Thatcher (LARGE PRINT) [Large Print]

For this novel, Lenore Hart uses a memoir style to show her life as a wife and mother in mid-19th Century America and the fond memories she will always treasure for Huck, Tom, and Sammy Clemens. The story is told from Becky's point of view, i.e., that of a woman from Missouri -- a woman from a state divided in its sentiments, north and south -- and no less torn by her own romantic sentiments. A notable aspect of the book is her recollections of growing up with the bifurcated attitudes of that state. It is clear that Ms. Hart, with her deep undertanding of Twain iconograhy, often takes on his persona. There are places where the voice in this book is pure Twain, incidents where Becky outwits the boys, Sammy Clemens and Huck, with the same graveyard tricks that once sprang from Twain's pen. Hart has also added fresh tribulations to the accounts of Jim, the African-American who traveled down the Mississipi on the raft with Huck. Her schoolhouse stories of thir pranks and her own enlarged role in those capers compete with Twain's originals, too. She adds even more drama when she develops Becky's fears and loneliness for her husband, Sid, who has joined the federal army durng the civil war. Black-white relations, rebel and bluebelly, town and country are all concerns of Lenore Hart's Becky, too. Yet another feature of this enchanting book is the qualities of a "story in a story" (a favorite device of Good Ole' Mark) wherein Becky's love affair with Tom Sawyer grows and develops and finally fulminates into a hair raising episode with the two of them lost for days in a cave during which time she discovers the ugly side of Tom's character. To her great credit, author Hart seems to have mastered the inner thoughts of her protagonist, Becky, e.g, a language precisely like that used by ladies of this historical period in an interior monologue following a sexual encounter: "Lord God, I turned into the kind of women people cut dead on the street. The sort who inspire real ladies to twitch their skirts aside in passing so as not to be contaminated." Becky's daring to dress as a soldier so she can go into the army camp to convince her husband to desert the army and come home is just another example. Although her described success with short hair and men's clothes is less convicing to this reader than Twain's scenes of cross dressing, Hart makes up for it with the realism of the death and dying, the fearful sights and sounds of the battlefield, and her rescue of her wounded husband. Later, her husband is more convincing as a be-pillowed pregnant woman shrieking in a midwife's country cottage as they make their escape from the enemy. This episode is as comical as Mark Twain at his best. Many Missourians devoted to either Confederate Gray or Federal Blue left the state when they'd lost everything to the seemingly endless war. Many followed the trail of earlier pioneers whose jumping off place to the west was Missouri. It was n

I really enjoyed reading this book. I had to use my imagination quite a lot, which only added to the appeal. It is a fun read and I am planning to recommend it for my book club.

Although I'm not a big fan of historical novels, I though Becky was great fun. I enjoyed Hart's depIction of Twain as child and adult; the slight suggestions that Huck was bisexual and perhaps jealous of Becky; and the transformation of Becky from the housewife (who'd settled for Sid and stifled the daring-do ways of her girlhood) into an feminist action character. I learned a lot from the period details, especially about the battles in the Midwest, something my Southern education omitted. I thought this book was good fun and that Hart did a great job of coloring the grown-up Twain and his characters. I hope someone makes this into a movie.

Lenore Hart helps Becky Thatcher out of her Twain-fit corset and that's all it takes, first the girl, then the woman, is off and running. I don't think you'll be getting her back in that thing. Or on a horse side saddle. Into a dress, maybe, on special occasions, but as a full-grown woman she's going to prefer the pants. Best to make a little time before you start this tale because in all likelihood you'll be ignoring your life in favor of the book once you've begun. This book defines page-turner. But there's more to it than that: the whole bent world of Twain's exclusively male perspective here gets some straightening up. And it's refreshing, even for us guys. Highly recommended.

I absolutely adored this book. It's a retelling of Tom Sawyer through Becky Thatcher's perspective, and it's romantic, charming and thoroughly entertaining. I really responded to the rich love story, but the historical setting also swept me away to a really fascinating time in American history. This is my next bookclub recommendation for sure!