Tom Sawyer
Tom Sawyer by Mark Twainby Mark Twain
Shares rank 31 of 122 novels by recommenders
Recommended as a classic of American literature, with a memorable fence scene and lasting literary value. Critics call its humor tedious and some call it racist.
Recommended as a classic of American literature, with a memorable fence scene and lasting literary value. Critics call its humor tedious and some call it racist.
9 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 67%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Seen as quintessential American novel
“Twain is the obvious "American Homer" not just because his name pops immediately to mind”
Comment from 21 Jul 2026 in “Who Is America's Homer?” “that passage more than any other story sums up the spirit of the USA”
Comment from 30 Oct 2026 in “The Great American Rascal: Tom Sawyer at 150” Childhood favorite with literary value
“One of my fondest childhood memory is reading sawyer and huck.”
Comment from 29 Oct 2026 in “The Great American Rascal: Tom Sawyer at 150” “There's still a lot of value in it as a work of literature”
Comment from 29 Oct 2026 in “The Great American Rascal: Tom Sawyer at 150”
Other novels people recommend
The four most recommended other novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime and Punishmentby Fyodor Dostoevsky | 39 | 9 | 81% | 6 | — | Approved |
| The Brothers Karamazovby Fyodor Dostoevsky | 28 | 8 | 78% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Infinite Jestby David Foster Wallace | 26 | 5 | 84% | 9 | 10 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| The Great Gatsbyby F. Scott Fitzgerald | 24 | 9 | 73% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Tom Sawyerby Mark TwainThis page | 6 | 3 | 67% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
8 of the 9 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Tom Sawyer functions as a racist book”
“that passage more than any other story sums up the spirit of the USA”
“The passage where Tom goes to whitewash the fence is brilliant.”
“One of my fondest childhood memory is reading sawyer and huck.”
“There's still a lot of value in it as a work of literature”
“Twain can be tedious because he’s a humorist and we’ve heard those jokes a million times by now.”
“getting through something even as simple as Tom Sawyer was such a chore for me”
“Twain is the obvious "American Homer" not just because his name pops immediately to mind”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.