Like so many other pre and teenagers I had the wrong idea of Mark Twain imposed on me from a young age.  I mean, I liked that thing that Tom Sawyer did where he tricked his buddies into washing the fence for him.  But the standard primary school Mark Twain is just not as fabulous as the man could be.  It is no where near as fabulous.

So, at some point in my early teen-dom I made the this-is-how-fabulous-Mark-Twain-really-is discovery when I picked up From a Pen Warmed in Hell.  Of course I was going to pick it up.  I was immature and it had ‘Hell’ in the title.  Thumbing through it, there could be no doubt that it was something wonderful even though it contained sundry writings from a guy who wrote stories about precocious southern boys (i.e. not my bag).  The more I read, the more I needed.  Pretty soon, I had developed a full on love for Mark Twain.

And that is why, when I was trolling Project Gutenberg for stuff to stock my e-reader with, I downloaded Christian Science.  I started reading it recently in waiting rooms and on planes.  I’m not near done.  But already I can’t stop talking about it.

In his very Mark Twain way, the author is managing to make fun of Christian Science while still somehow convincing me that he thinks its a really good thing.  At least that’s how he starts.  I’m just waiting for him to open up and start slashing it to pieces.  Though I will be no less satisfied if the subtlety continues.  His criticisms of organized religion floored me at my first read of From a Pen Warmed in Hell.  It’s not so much that I wanted to ride the coat-tails of his tirade, or wanted to share in his calculated deconstruction of Christian belief systems.  I found his wit and literary strategy invigorating.  I am enjoying Christian Science no less.

His criticism, on religion, literature, or government, always seems like an act of love to me.  Whether it’s those things he loved or just the human nature that put them in action, I don’t know.  Perhaps I am only projecting something of myself in the mix.  But consider.  How could he spend so much time with those concepts he criticized if he did not love them?  It’s like how we might fight and strain and whole-heartedly disagree with our parents while still holding them dear.

I think perhaps my own reading history had to do with my love of Mark Twain’s criticism.  His sharp phrases read like in-jokes.  I’m sure that, had I not read the books he referenced, studied the history he spoke of, or known the religion he laid bare, I would not have been as enchanted.  That said, if you’ve read The Last of the Mohicans, take a moment to check out Mark Twain’s Literary offenses of Fenimore Cooper as well.

Viva Project Gutenberg!