The Innocents Abroad, Or, the New Pilgrims' Progress by Mark TwainMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
A cocksure, 32-year-old Mark Twain lets fly with rabid wit and cynicism in his genre-twisting travelogue, which topples Europe and the Middle East on its head.
Mixing observational humor with intriguing historical nuggets and fascinating slice-of-life sketches, Twain delivers nonstop edutainment, hardly pausing to take a breath.
Some of the highlights involve his mockery of stuffy ritual and self-importance. His uncanny ability to ridicule convention with deadpan, understated sarcasm is a joy to behold.
"The Innocents Abroad" portends the novelist that Twain would evolve into, while retaining his yellow journalistic roots. Many of the book's passages are reprints of dispatches he wrote for newspapers while on tour, and those portions blend seamlessly into his storytelling web.
Few hold "The Innocents Abroad" as peak Twain, but I found it a refreshing and absorbing read that gets to the DNA of America's greatest author. The one-of-a-kind mind delivered a one-of-a-kind debut book.
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