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    Finn
    Finn
    Finn
    Audiobook11 hours

    Finn

    Written by Jon Clinch

    Narrated by Ed Sala

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Some 120 years ago, Mark Twain left Huckleberry Finn's father dead in a room crowded with oddities: a wooden leg, women's underclothing, two black cloth masks, and more. Clinch's masterly debut draws from the nation's literary heritage to create this completely original story. Unabridged. 9 CDs.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateJan 21, 2010
    ISBN9781456123987
    Finn
    Author

    Jon Clinch

    Jon Clinch is the author of the acclaimed novels Finn, Kings of the Earth, The Thief of Auschwitz, Belzoni Dreams of Egypt, Marley, and The General and Julia. A native of upstate New York, Jon lives with his wife in the Green Mountains of Vermont. Find out more at JonClinch.com.

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    Reviews for Finn

    4/5

    42 ratings35 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I like stories that build on classic tales. Gregory Maguire's Wicked, which tells the story of Oz from the perspective of the Witch of the West, and Mirror Mirror which recreates Snow White's stepmother as Lucretia Borgia; Jean Rys's Wide Sargasso Sea which tells of the childhood of Mrs. Rochester; and Timothy Findlay's Not Wanted on the Voyage which looks at Noah's family, are among my favourite books. Having re-read Huckleberry Finn just last year, I was immediately drawn to Jon Clinch's Finn.When I was about 75% through the book, my husband asked me if it was good. I found I couldn't answer.This story of Huck's father, known only as "Finn", is violent and the main character has few, if any, redeeming qualities. He is a violent alcoholic and a murderer. If he wasn't Huck's father, I would have had no interest in him at all.Mr. Clinch has introduced an interesting and plausible twist to the story of Huck: his mother is black. Finn's racist ideology, combined with his desire for black women, bring a larger perspective to his inner struggles with alcohol and with his own father.Was it a "good" book? Still hard to say. Well written, at times shockingly hard to read. Not easily forgettable -- this will stay with you. Mr. Clinch has done a job I think Mark Twain would have liked, and has made a positive contribution to deepening the story of Huckleberry Finn.
    • 4/5
      This 2007 novel is a prequel to Huckleberry Finn, telling of his evil father and setting out Huck's birth and growing up wih his father. Said father is ncredibly bad and there seems little law in the places and times depicted. I would have liked a little less blatantly evil person but the book holds one's attention well and the writing style, while unusual, is clear and vivid.
    • 3/5
      Finn is the story that Mark Twain does not tell... it's the story of Huck's father, portrayed in Huckleberry Finn as a no-good drunk, eager to take the boy's new found wealth away from him. And he's no different in his own story. BUT... Finn's story makes you realize why he is a no-good drunk. It doesn't make it any easier to accept, for the author shows you a world of brutality, of racism, of cruelty beyond imagination. He also shows you Finn's awkward affection and his misshapen kindnesses. The end result is a book full of horror and sadness. I can't say that I enjoyed Finn, but I was spellbound and unable to turn away, even as I saw the unspeakable about to occur. Well written, with numerous nods to Mark Twain.
    • 5/5
      Who can resist the temptation to learn the dark secrets of Pap Finn, Huckleberry Finn's alcoholic and abusive father, and how he ended up floating down the Mississippi River inside a house with a bullet in his back. Clinch takes up the few clues from Twain's book and weaves a believable if ultimately dark and sad biography of Pap Finn from his childhood to untimely demise. It is Mark Twain with a little bit of creepy "Deliverance" wrapped around a murder mystery. Clinch crafts his words and sentences with almost poetic care creating a cadence that bounces along the river pulling up secrets from its muddy depths.
    • 5/5
      I'm normally not inclined to read sequels, prequels or other take-offs on classic literature written by authors who did not write the originals. Now, however, there is Finn, a book that intrigued me when I first heard about it, and which comes highly recommended by my brother, for whom Twain is the unassailable master of American Literature. And the highest compliment I can pay it is to say that having read this tale of Pap Finn's wretched life and poetically just death, I truly feel that I have learned Huck Finn's back story as Mark Twain might have envisioned it himself. The writing is nothing like Twain’s, but that is naturally preferable to having someone attempt to copy his style and failing at it. There is a bit of jumping back and forth in time that requires the reader to be very attentive to clues, and Clinch uses a quirky style of punctuating dialog that I could have done without, but there's where I quit quibbling. The first surprise Jon Clinch has in store for us is the revelation that Huck Finn's Pap was born and raised in a "great white clapboard mansion alongside the grand white limestone courthouse on the finest block of the highest street in…the most cosmopolitan village" in Adams County, Illinois. We are never told what his Christian name is, but I have a very strong suspicion that, as the elder son, Pap was named for his father. For his part, he refers to his parents as simply "The Judge" and "her". If you thought Pap was a sorry excuse for a human being, wait until you meet the Judge.The Judge in this story is not the benevolent Judge Thatcher of Twain's books, but his polar opposite, Judge James Manchester Finn, a man less concerned with the "Truth" than with his concept of the "Right". From his days of riding the circuit on horseback, to his occupation of that home above it all, to his decision to hire a white man to attend his family rather than employ black servants, Judge Finn elevates himself over all other men, but especially over the black race, for which he expresses a hatred that knows no bounds. This is not his story, but he is very important to it. It isn't Huck's story either, but it fits perfectly into the framework of that story as given to us by Twain, allowing for the assumption, which Clinch admits to making, that Huck was not an entirely reliable narrator. To quote the author, "In matters of location and timing and continuity, the events retold in this novel are fitted meticulously into and around Pap Finn's appearances, both alive and dead, in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The elements of his character---his drunkenness, his cruelty, his virulent and overwhelming hatred of blacks--are all drawn whole from Twain's novel and followed here to their likely ends." There are more surprises in store, (we meet Huck's mother, for instance) but I will not include any spoilers here.It is impossible to like anything about Pap Finn, or even to raise a shred of sympathy for him, despite the obvious fact that he is doomed by nature and lack of nurture to be what he becomes. His grandfather was a drunk; his father a contemptuous tyrant; his mother absorbed with memories of her youth in Philadelphia and with tending to her more delicate younger son, Will. Nastier even than we knew from our encounters with him in [Huckleberry Finn], Pap is also vastly more interesting here…and haven't you always longed to know the significance of the mysterious contents of the room in which Pap was discovered dead? Huck told us "You don't know about me without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer…". If Pap could speak to us, he would say "You don't know about me without you have read a book by the name of Finn…That book was made by Mr. Jon Clinch, and he told the truth, mainly."
    • 3/5
      I fell in love with the writing of Mark Twain in Junior High and High School. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was always one of my favorites, not only because of the fun adventures and outrageously ridiculous humor but also because of the great depth and thought of the story filled with so many layers and nuances of historical social dynamics and beliefs. As a result very naturally intrigued by Finn, a new novel telling the story of Huck's father "Pap" Finn. The book follows the life of Pap Finn (mostly just called "Finn" in the book as he never receives a true first name). There are a few scenes and recollections about his youth but mostly the novel focuses on his adult life in the time leading up to Huck's birth and the years that follow until the ultimate discovery of his death as outlined in the original novel by Twain. The organization of the chapters was occasionally disorienting with limited indication of timing since from one chapter to another we may jump forward or backward in time by a handful of years. It was only significantly disorienting once or twice but when it did happen I wondered as to the intent of such jumps other than perhaps to help the reader feel as unsteady and flailing as Finn was in his own life.The tone, language and literary styling of the novel are impressive. The book is well written. In some regard there seems to be a desire to imitate Twain's rhetoric and uphold the 19th century language of the previous novel. But the tone and content of this book necessarily result in stylistic differences that make this a much darker novel even in the moments of levity. 'Finn' has some scenes which are indeed laughable but the tone makes them tragically funny as opposed to the laugh-out-loud humor of 'Huckleberry.'We are given scenes outlining the strained relationship between Finn and his family members. Finn's father looks at Finn with absolute disgust and hatred that has gone on for years. Finn's brother provides token olive branches where he can but is limited by a need to remain in the good graces of his father and society. As a result, Finn is left to his own devices. His broken family life sends him into the world with a spiteful attitude and a feeling that everyone is out to get him and that the only person he can count on is himself. Fortunately Finn is capable enough to find odd jobs and thus scrapes to stay alive...but only barely so. And as his vices increase, his ability to survive diminishes.As despicable as Finn was in the Twain novel, his portrayal here is taken down into even more depravity. Any attempts to try and soften him and make us sympathetic to his plight are quickly destroyed by his relentless return to despicable behavior. His vile actions are alluded to by Twain but they are readily presented and acted out in Clinch's book. Finn is involved in lewd drunkenness but also in brutality, rape and murder of others (primarily Blacks and especially women). While this novel doesn't have the gratuitous violence of a horror novel, it is definitely ratcheted up a notch for "literary fiction." Even though the scenes may not have been "as bad as they could be", the matter-of-fact nature of the scenes and Finn's apathetic attitude towards his behavior increased the problem of each scene. Fortunately there aren't a ton of sequences or this novel would be even more troubling. In some of the more poignant moments there is a glimmer of thoughtful contemplation by Finn and it almost seems as if he will try to present some redeeming qualities and become a character for which we can sympathize or pity. These glimpses are sadly more short lived than I would have hoped and when Finn's tale finally ends it's difficult to feel much compassion for him at all.All of that said, it is difficult to wholly recommend Finn to my friends and family. I'm not saying "YOU" shouldn't read it...but I don't know necessarily who "YOU" are so I can't entirely make that call for you. But to the people that I normally recommend books to or discuss books with, this is not a recommendation. As a novel, it has plenty of good qualities and allows for some very thought provoking moments. It definitely exists as more than a simple 'foil' to the previous Twain novel. There is a depth here that lets it stand on its own merits. However, I feel like taking "Finn" without looking at "Huckleberry" would result in a much different reading...a reading that can be appreciated for writing style and quality but which may become less meaningful other than as an exploration into the disgusting behavior of a sadistic, racist, violent alcoholic in 19th century America. And for me, that is a difficult novel to swallow in any form. As far as what it does as a companion piece to "Huckleberry", I'm left with the feeling that Clinch did a good job at fleshing out Finn but at the end of the day, I don't feel like it was something that really "had to be done."***2.5 out of 5 Stars
    • 3/5
      Mark Twain he's not.As I read all the glowing reviews for Jon Clinch's novel, I can't help but wonder what I missed.While the author's concept for this piece of parallel literature borders on brillance, I found "Finn" hard to get into and -- in many areas -- extemely dull. Clinch's tendency to overdose readers on details and meander through vignettes was annoying.But I have this nagging feeling that it's me, given the rave reviews "Finn" has enjoyed. Perhaps I need to revisit Mark Twain's original tome, a book I haven't read since I was 13 or 14. Admittedly, I barely remember the plot line, let alone the nuances of Twain's characters.
    • 5/5
      Every time I read "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"(and I've read it many times), the scene where Huck and Jim find Pap Finn's body in the floating house mystifies me. What's the deal with those masks? The scribblings on the wall? The wooden leg? How did the house come to be floating in the middle of the river? I always wanted to know what happened to Pap Finn. So, apparently, did Jon Clinch.Clinch reproduces part of the aforementioned scene at the beginning of the book. Then he tells you Pap Finn's story. Pap is the son of a venal, vindictive circuit judge who has disowned him because of his alcoholism and his relationship with a black woman. Finn survives in his hovel by the river by putting out lines for catfish and trading his catches for necessaries and whiskey. In the leaner times, Finn gets cheap corn liquor from a blind hermit bootlegger in the woods.Finn is a screw-up, an abuser of women, a thief, and a murderer. We watch his life dissolve in this dark novel, which takes place in between the beats of Mark Twain's most famous novel. This story fits in seamlessly, like one of the stories in Pulp Fiction to the others. The only difference is the darker tone. Twain's novel, for the most part, is written in a comic style. But it would be off-mark to say "Huckleberry Finn" doesn't have its own darkness (remember the conclusion of the feud plotline? Brrr.) It would also be off-mark to say that "Finn" is an adult novel, whereas "Huckleberry Finn" is for kids. "Huckleberry Finn" is a great adult novel that has a lot of appeal for kids, but is often foisted on kids who don't have the maturity to fully understand it.Probably the most controversial aspect of this book is the revelation that Huck is half black, a "mulatto", in the parlance of the day. I was skeptical, because Huck's narration in Twain's book seems to leave no room for such an interpretation. I kept saying, "Yeah, but...Yeah, but...". Eventually my "yeah buts" were put to rest, and I was willing to accept Clinch's interpretation as a valid one, if not "the" valid one.A great achievement.
    • 2/5
      Not great. I didn't care about any of the characters. The original was way better.
    • 5/5
      It has been said there are no true original stories. Each story is built on a previously written story. For example, a story we are all familiar with in Genesis, Noah’s Ark, is found in the Hebrew Torah, the Islamic Quran, and the Epic of Gilgamesh. Various versions of the classic may be found in children’s picture books and in Sunday school lessons, too.Other literature of late expands on classics with a variety of success. Two come to mind: The Red Tent by Anita Diamant is based on the Biblical story of Dinah, and Wicked by Gregory Maguire is based on The Wizard of Oz.New on library shelves and bookstore displays, Finn by Jon Clinch is based on Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Main character, known only as Finn throughout the book, isn’t Huck but rather his father. A mean, nasty bigot of a man who only cares for his son when money enters the picture, somehow makes for a sympathetic character.Despicable characters tend to be plot drivers, but audience losers. An author takes a chance when he creates a main character so hateful. Why? Most readers want to empathize or step into the personality instead of wish them dead. Finn is lustful towards black woman, abusive to children, and slightly insane. Not really a person one would like to meet in the real world or read about.Yet, author Clinch works in our sympathy for the alcoholic. In the first chapter, three young boys steal fish from Finn’s trout line. Finn, in search of drink, stumbles upon them mid-crime. Two of the boys bail, but one is left trying to remove a hook from his palm. The unfortunate takes a backhand from Finn, which knocks him out and the hook free. Then our antihero is seen tenderly removing the fish from the boat’s hull.The book opens with an excerpt from Huckleberry Finn. Jim and Huck, while on the run, enter a cabin containing the body of a murdered man; who happens to be Huck’s father. The seedy room is strewn with “greasy cards,” “old whiskey bottles,” and “a couple of masks made out of black cloth.” The plaster walls shown “the ignorantest kind of words and pictures, made with charcoal.”This scene sets the stage, from murderous start to vindicated end. Finn, although evolving from Huckleberry Finn, stands alone as an original.
    • 4/5
      This is a difficult book to describe - it's very good, but I can't say I enjoyed reading it. This is a dark, disturbing book, and it gives the backstory of Huckleberry Finn's father (whose first name we never learn). Clinch is an excellent writer, and his prose is the novel's greatest strength. He is able to elicit strong, visceral reactions to the extent that I had to put the book down for awhile after the "preacher" in the boat scene. It's not a light read, at all, but well worth the effort. I hope Clinch decides to write another novel.
    • 4/5
      Graphic Violence Warning: definitely not light reading! This is a gritty, dark study of a very disturbed and disturbing individual that will not be quickly forgotten. Clinch has resurrected the abominable Pap Finn in all his tormented, cruel, racist glory. It's hard to imagine a more despicable character unless you look at his father the Judge.Clinch is no Mark Twain, and that's good because he's not trying to emulate someone else's writing. This is Clinch's story about the dark side of slavery and human nature. He is an extremely skillful writer whose ambitious first book stands on its own and is a real page-turner.
    • 5/5
      I was anxious when I started the book because I had come across some less-than-favorable reviews. I, however, loved it. I found it to be beautifully written with an engaging story that kept my attention until the very end. I didn't want it to come to an end.
    • 4/5
      Have you ever read a book that, when completed, leaves you with a "space" of sorts? You're not quite sure what to think about the book - you determine it was good - but to analyze it leaves you speechless.That's how I feel about Finn.For sure, Finn is not for the faint of heart. Many parts of the book are downright disturbing. Finn is not a hero and not to be loved by its readers. But like a car accident that you can't help but watch, you follow Finn through this story for better or worse. There are times when you think he will redeem himself, but then he does something even more deplorable than the page before. He's a jerk. A bastard. A racist and sexist pig. And you can't help but read more about him. True raw and grit, it leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth. And you may even enjoy every minute of it.
    • 5/5
      Mesmerising imagining of Pap Finn, Huck's drunken racist pig of a sire. Violent, horrific and astonishingly well-written, Clinch's first novel rushes in where no one's ever dared go. What Clinch has accomplished here is nothing short of breath-taking. Finn's a bad man who isn't the least bit likable, which makes this novel even more remarkable in its humanity and even tenderness. The tone is just remote and scholarly enough to keep one a step away from Finn, but I could certainly smell him. Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      Good stories leave you with something to think about. They don't answer every question. They allow readers to draw their own conclusions."The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is a good story, one of the best. When Jon Clinch, the creative director of a Philadelphia ad agency, read Mark Twain's classic American novel, he kept thinking about the many unresolved questions, like what happened to Huck's pap, how did he die and what caused him to be so evil? He attempts to answer these and other questions in his first novel, "Finn," now available in a Random House paperback."Finn" looks at the same story from pap's point of view. Huck comes and goes, but remains a relatively minor character. Clinch manages to keep his story consistent with Twain's while explaining it and adding to it in creative ways.Finn, as the author calls Huck's disreputable father throughout, is the black sheep of a supposedly reputable family. His father, the Judge, treats Finn as an outcast, although his brother Will, an attorney, sees him and supports him on the sly. The Judge is painted as being so racist that he won't even tolerate black servants in his home, and he certainly won't tolerate a son who is sexuallty drawn to black women as Finn is. Clinch suggests that Finn becomes so evil because he is conflicted, torn between his desire to win the approval of his father and his love for one black woman in particular, a runaway slave named Mary.In undoubtedly the most striking and controversial revelation in "Finn," Clinch makes Huck the son of Finn and Mary, a mulatto boy who can pass for white but is comfortable around blacks, as we know from "Huckleberry Finn." As evil and abusive as Finn is — and he commits more than one murder in "Finn" — Clinch also shows him to be a human being for whom the reader can have some sympathy, even while despising his actions.And does "Finn" leave unanswered questions? Yes, indeed. The big one is: Is Huck's life in danger even after Finn's death? The Judge wants his grandson dead because he doesn't want his bloodline soiled. If Finn is dead, will the Judge call on someone else to do the job? Huck has left on his raft just in time, but is he safe even after he lights out for the Territory? "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is a light book with dark undertones. "Finn," in contrast, is a dark book with, at best, a few shades of gray. It will make you want to take another look at Mark Twain's work
    • 4/5
      It's hard to add to the work of a writer like Mark Twain. However, I think Jon Clinch did a decent job in his book. Admittedly, it has been some time since I've read Twain, but reading Clinch's book did help me to recall some of the magic of the original works and I will revisit them soon.
    • 4/5
      Jon Clinch tells the story of Huckleberry Finn's father, Pap, in Finn, his gripping debut novel. The time frame mirrors much of Twain's classics, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Clinch paints a powerful narrative, laced with darkness and violence. He captures a side of Twain's world previously not illuminated. As one reviewer said, "Finn turns over the rocks along Huckleberry Finn's Mississippi to reveal the secrets beneath." Recommended by Josh Hogan.
    • 3/5
      Well, I'm not really sure what to say about Finn. I can't say that I loved it, nor can I say that I hated it. I wish that I had read Huckleberry Finn before reading the book so that I could make more comparisons between the two, and I would have known more about the storyline that inspired Clinch. I admire that Clinch didn't try to imitate Mark Twain's writing style; to have done so would have robbed his portrayal of Finn (who I understand, even in Twain's work, was hinted at being a dark, morally bankrupt character) of authenticity. However, Finn is so bleak a character that I really couldn't get into his story. Had he taken more initiative, I might have cared more. Instead, Finn bullied his way through life, allowing himself to be carried along by events rather than attempt to influence those events. I think that was intentional as Finn is like the river that provides him with his identity and his livelihood--cutting its own path through the land, a path that is not always the best or most obvious. There were some intriguing twists--Finn's black sheep status in a wealthy family, the sadistic and racist Judge Finn (who is the true villain of the novel), the revelation that Huckleberry is a mulatto. While I can't praise the novel, I can admire the craft and care that went into its writing, and I don't think Mark Twain would have been the least bit offended. In fact, I suspect he would have been delighted with Clinch's original take on the story of Pap Finn.
    • 5/5
      Very dark and very elegant. A good start to the reading year.
    • 4/5
      A dark reinterpretation of a literary classic. In the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the titular character's father is found dead in his house as it floats down the river. His death is not explained but rather assumed to be the natural result of his twisted and sinful life. The author explores what this vile and corrupted man's life was like. Who was Huck's mother and where are the roots of Finn's cruel character flaws? The author takes us deep into the darkness of alcoholism and racism and will not spare us any detail. A grisly story that both condemns Finn and fills the reader with a pitiful kind of sympathy for his own peculiar suffering.
    • 5/5
      Excellent novel. Darkly written, completely different, yet true to the original. Twain would have been outwardly offended, but deep inside he would be smiling and wishing that he had written this tome himself. Nifty little plot twists decorate this novel and all of the twists resolve to the ending very nicely.
    • 4/5
      I love the way Jon Clinch writes. Both Finn and Kings of the Earth were so well written. Clinch is able to take a story about violence and twist it and turn it so that even when you flinch you just can't stop reading. Finn is based on the father of Huckleberry Finn. Huck does play a part, but it's truly his fathers story. Finn is a violent abusive downright horrible human being. Clinch gives us his background, but doesn't give us the typical "oh he wasn't loved as a child so this is why he is the way he is." There is no easy answer and no excuses for his behavior. Finn is a great read!
    • 3/5
      Brilliantly well written and absolutely mesmerizing reimagining of the Huck Finn story focusing on Huck's father. This is a dark, dark story and Finn is a completely despicable character. I can't say that I enjoyed reading the story but I'm not sure I'll ever forget it.
    • 3/5
      I found it a little hard to follow when the timeline kept jumping back and forth. I'd have done better with some dates at the beginning of the chapter so I knew when I was reading of. The story line itself was good, answers questions one might have asked about Huck's dad and how he came to be living with the Widow Douglas.
    • 4/5
      The Short of It:Clinch manages to create a thoughtful, well-crafted tale that centers around Huck’s drunken father, known simply as Finn. Artfully told, yet true to the beloved classic.The Rest of It:About this time last year, I was looking for titles to pitch to my book club and came across Finn. I can’t remember where I saw it, but it was a staff pick at one of the indie stores. The staffer had a lot of good things to say about it, but I was skeptical. I was intrigued by the premise, but doubtful. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a timeless classic so I wasn’t interested in reading anything that would taint my memory of it. However, if the author chose to build upon it…well, that I could see. That’s exactly what Jon Clinch does.Here’s a passage from The Adventure’s of Huckleberry Finn as said, by Jim:It’s a dead man. Yes, indeedy; naked too. He’s ben shot in de back. I reck’n he’s ben dead two er three days. Come in, Huck but doan’ look at his face–it’s too gashly.The actual passage is quite a bit longer, but Clinch takes that passage and fills in the details to create Finn, which in and of itself, is its own story. Admittedly, the first half of the book is a bit monotonous. Finn is a simple man on the surface. He spends most of his day fishing, only to trade his catch for whiskey later. The daily routine of a drunkard can be a tad repetitive but in sharing this with us, Clinch gives us a feel for who Finn is. In between these drunken episodes, there are moments of clarity. Moments where Finn shows compassion, or pity…or even intelligence but there are also moments of pure hatred and viciousness. His behavior is almost animal-like in nature, and he is brutal at times.As for his relationship with son, Huck…there is love there, but there is also a “what can he do for me?” attitude which is brought to our attention early on. Finn’s strength is the ability to immediately assess a situation, to determine what’s in it for him. This rings true for his interactions with several of other characters as well, and there are many wonderful characters in this novel. Finn takes from each of them, what he needs at that exact moment.Although Clinch remains true to the classic, he does take some liberties with Huck as we know him. I wasn’t sure how I felt about them, but by the end of the story, it all felt right to me.As far as the actual writing, the story is told out-of-order, and as the story progresses, the pace quickens and each chapter becomes shorter in length. This format was incredibly effective and had me eagerly turning each page to see how the story ended. As the days pass, I find myself thinking about the complexity of such a story and how Clinch managed to pull it off.My book club is discussing this book tonight. It will be an interesting discussion as there are so many things to discuss. I highly recommend it.
    • 4/5
      The book dovetails nicely with Huck's original story. It fully develops Huck's father, a minor character in Twain's story. It doesn't make him any more likeable than he is in Huckleberry Finn, but you understand him better. He is loathsome and evil, but now you can see why. The writing itself is excellent and Clinch never attempts to imitate Mark Twain--a wise decision. I thoroughly enjoyed it (even while despising the character of Finn) and will definitely read Mr. Clinch's future novels.
    • 5/5
      Astonishing. This is a deep, resonant, and emotionally painful work of literature. Elegant writing is often enough to enthrall a reader; when elegance is employed in the service of giving voice to the unspeakable heart of the Great American Novel? Wow.
    • 4/5
      A revisiting of the world of Huck Finn. The lyrical writing would seem to be at odds with the portayal of Pap Finn, a man of brutish nature and actions, but it works. This dichotomy is set up from the first poetic sentence -- which describes a dead body floating down a river.

      The complex plot and deep characterization make for a rich, rewarding read. The author has skillfully fitted his tale into the lacunae of Twain's work.

      My only quibble is that the author has used the devise of alternating repeatedly between two converging timelines and it is confusing at times to keep track of which timeline you're in. But over all, a fine book.
    • 5/5
      This was a great book, although now I really want to re-read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The author did a wonderful job of setting the scene in Mark Twain World and of integrating the Huckleberry Finn story which I think is delightful. The language with which Clinch writes is beautiful. I completely enjoyed it. The only thing I found mildly annoying is that Finn never got a first name. I think, based on how and why Clinch wrote the book, that's completely consistent. But it really verged on awkward several times that he did NOT have a first name.