Finn by Jon Clinch

If you can get past the very dark and gruesome first chapter, then you’re in for an absolutely fascinating read. Finn is a brazen reimagining of the life and death of Pap Finn, Huckleberry Finn’s father. 

In Mark Twain’s story, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Pap Finn does not appear quite often. When he does appear, he is the embodiment of evil, being the violent alcoholic father who beats Huck, kidnaps him and locks him up in a secluded cabin in the woods. Huck escapes and hides out in a nearby island where he encounters the slave Jim. It is also here that Huck and Jim find a house floating on the river, washed away by the flood. Inside, they discover the body of a man who has been shot in the back. By the last chapter, we learn that the dead man is Pap Finn.

And from this meager and cryptic material, Jon Clinch develops a compelling story on how Finn became the vile, depraved drunk that he was and how he met his mysterious, violent end.

Written from Pap’s point of view, the chapters alternate between the past and the present. Clinch seamlessly weaves in incidents and characters from Twain’s story. The old characters are there: Huck, the Widow Douglas and Judge Thatcher as well as new ones in the person of the Judge, Finn’s domineering, vindictive father whose disappointment in his son is the impetus for Finn’s paternal hatred and lifelong affinity with whiskey. We are also introduced to Mary, a young slave he has claimed as a “reward” and, in defiance of his father, has kept her secretly locked up in his shack. It is this relationship that produces the bi-racial Huck which repulses the profoundly racist Judge to no end. This is a trait that is deeply ingrained in Finn as well and that which predictably causes him the most torment. 

Finn is one of the most memorable and complex anti-heroes I have ever come across. It is disturbingly fascinating to watch him on the road to self-destruction.  He is mean and repugnant, yet there are moments of poignancy with Mary and Huck that has you hoping for his redemption. These moments, however, are fleeting because he is primarily cut from the same cloth as his father. The shame of his relationship with Mary and Huck constantly overpowers whatever “good” intentions he has for both of them and he reverts to the drunken, sadistic self he is more comfortable with. In the end, his demise will have you pondering who or what was responsible for the madness in his life.

This is definitely one of the best books I’ve read this year. This is the debut novel of Jon Clinch who is, without question, a brilliant writer who had the audacity to spin a gripping story off a great classic. Is it necessary to read Mark Twain’s novel before tackling Finn? Not really, the story can stand alone. You may, however, find yourself reaching for the Twain classic sooner than you think.