FINN by Jon Clinch

I liked the idea of this novel a lot more than I liked the novel itself.  I even reread Huckleberry Finn so that the storyline would be familiar.  The author here builds a colorful but violent backstory for Huck’s father.  However, I had several problems with this book.  First of all, it’s hard to improve upon Mark Twain.  Although the author seems to know his subject matter, the flavor is so much darker than that of Huckleberry Finn.  Secondly, the timeline is not sequential, and I really did not understand the need for this.  The author periodically alerts the reader as to where we are in the saga of the life of Huck Finn’s father, but I still managed to get confused and have to flip back to find out when the current action was taking place.  I’m glad I was reading a physical book, because this rereading would have been too annoying to attempt in an ebook.  Except for knowing from the beginning the fate of the despicable main character, I think that a more sequential timeline would have made for a better read.  Also, the author fails to explain why Finn adopts the lifestyle that he does, given his genteel upbringing.  Is he just a sociopathic alcoholic?  I couldn’t feel sympathy for him at all, but perhaps a little more insight into what makes him tick would have helped.  The author does introduce one significant wrinkle into the Huck Finn story that I have mixed feelings about.  The story of Huck’s mother here is plausible, I suppose, and gives this novel its raison d’etre.  Mark Twain might have raised an eyebrow, or applauded, in response to Clinich’s take on Huck’s birth, which leads to a lie that is as poignant as it is understandable for the time.