The American Claimant (1892)

This short comic novel by Mark Twain treads familiar ground. The Prince and the Pauper might be the earliest and better model, but it's a tired old story rooted in high romanticism tropes, with vaguely medieval trappings, involving mistaken identities and lost lineages of nobility, set into a tiresome context of USA vs. Europe (and/or democracy vs. monarchy). The plot is detailed enough to hold water, and maybe even sturdy enough to sail, but for me most of the elements are merely hackneyed, stale for Twain and in general too. It's got enough to hold interest, especially if you are already inclined toward Twain. I have unfortunately lost some of my enthusiasm by reading more of him, but I am soldiering on. Twain liked to claim this was the world's first dictated novel, using some recording device, so there is that too. Seems legit. But it doesn't make much difference—he likely had a shot at revisions from a transcription, and his literary voice always was garrulous and natural. The jokes are so familiar they tend to be more pro forma than funny—about the foibles of people, the inanity of bureaucracy, and all the hypocrites and buncos cluttering things up everywhere. I can appreciate a lot of it—especially the railing against religion and aristocracy—because I'm generally in agreement with it. But he rambles often beyond my PC limits. At the moment I shudder at every casual use of the N-word I see or hear by a white person and unfortunately it shows up again here too. He is often not funny at all, which I don't have to tell you is a fatal flaw in a comic novel. Another interesting and jarring point of Twain that intrudes here is his fascination with business and making money. His characters often seem to be negotiating complex contracts with business jargon suddenly all over the place. Not surprising, perhaps, given that among other things Twain was also a failed businessman a few times over. The American Claimant is short and charming enough and with enough of his themes that you could package it up with some of his other stuff, as Library of America has, for a decent collection down at his secondary level. Not sure I'm interested in any levels below that, but I still enjoy reading him even when he's kind of an idiot.

In case the library is closed due to pandemic (Library of America).