A brilliant and offensive book

My generation--the tail-end
of X, or early Millennials--grew up in a time of soft racism and racial
inequality; we were also brought up to be tolerant and "color blind." Like most of
my peers, I wouldn't be caught dead using the n-word (despite being a bit of a
profanity connoisseur). I was taught that it's the most abhorrent of
epithets--although I also grew up exposed to hip-hop artists and comedians who
use the word with what seems like impunity.

The n-word issue has come up
recently with the decision by NewSouth Books to release a new edition of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The 1884
Mark Twain novel has a long history of controversy and censorship, much of it
involving its record 219 uses of the despised word. This new edition does away
with the n-word word entirely: hoping to reach a broader audience and stave off
controversy, the editors replaced it
each time with the word "slave."

Everyone seems to have an opinion about this. Many think the new edition whitewashes the past. But editor Alan
Gribben spoke compellingly to Publishers
Weekly about his
decision. Doing Huck Finn readings across Mississippi in 2009, Gribben encountered
numerous teachers and other readers who lamented the barrier the n-word creates
to teaching and enjoying this wonderful American novel.