'Finn: a Novel' by Jon Clinch

I'll admit it. I've always been pretty much an elitist when it comes to the topic of literature. I was, you see, AN ENGLISH MAJOR. Not exactly a rare breed, but an elite one that's very proud of itself, thanks very much.

I received my B.A. in English literature from a very small, private, liberal arts school in suburban Chicago, and at the time I thought I was clearly answering just about the highest calling a book lover can. What I came to find out later, painfully so, was the rest of the world couldn't really have cared much less about how passionate I was about my area of study. Ultimately, I had a really expensive piece of paper to hang on my wall, and no viable opportunity for employment. But what I did have was my thoroughly snobbish stance on WHAT IS GREAT LITERATURE. On that I was unshakeable.

For most of my life I thought it heresy to mess with the greatness that is the western canon. Works like Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea were always a huge thorn in my side. They were supremely irritating to me, in that self-righteous way things that are lowly irritate the ENGLISH MAJOR. How dare you mess with Jane Eyre, you upstart! Go write your own stuff, woman! Leave the Brontes alone. If Charlotte had wanted us to know Bertha's story she'd have written it in! Period. Now, leave off.

Blah, blah, blah. I dusted off the frame of my diploma with my tear-stained sleeve, weeping all over again at the injustice of it all.

Then came Michael Cunningham, whose The Hours made a foray into the world of Virginia Woolf that had steam coming out my ears. MY Virginia! I read the book once and thought "yeah, okay, interesting enough but it's a pale shadow." I read it again, and thought, "wow, I think I missed something the first time through, this is really timely and provocative." I read it a third time, and, finally, thought THIS IS BRILLIANT AND A GREAT HOMAGE."

Go figure.

When Random House sent me a copy of Finn to review I was intrigued. I respect Mark Twain's place in the American canon because he's, well, Mark Twain. He's iconic. He was uproariously funny, to put it very mildly, but he was also brilliantly socially aware, something that got him into a lot of hot water during his lifetime and still keeps him on the banned lists today. I knew all about Twain, but Jon Clinch I didn't know. He was new, and untested. This was his FIRST BOOK! He was no Mark Twain. I raised an eyebrow (the left, if you're wondering), skeptically.

Surprisingly, I found the premise of the book grabbed me immediately. The shadowy figure of Huckleberry Finn's father, the floating house, the body....  It had been so long since I'd read the book I'd forgotten all about those details. As lover of darkly written gothic writing, though, that was enough to sway me. I opted to read the book.

By the end of the first chapter I knew it. This was THE REAL THING. This wasn't the pale shadow, this was the strutting, self-assured player. Finn was, simply, a damn fine examination of what lay beneath the cryptic, incomplete portrait of what Mark Twain must have had in mind for Huck's father. This was the whole story, laid out for us, filled in with detail Twain probably didn't have in mind, but fulfilling the spirit of his inspiration. It was, essentially, the sort of dark masterpiece it should have been, to dare take on the task of fleshing out one of Mark Twain's characters.

Finn takes this one tiny sliver of information from Huckleberry Finn and expands it out to a tale about one of the most soulless characters in American literature. It tells the story of a man so without  human morality, and so animalistic in nature, it's almost impossible to believe he could be real. Almost. The depth of the depravity in the book is nothing short of startling, but also nothing short of genius. That it's violent, and at times depicts the most vile side of humanity, is true, but it does so in one of the most well-conceived, most tightly-woven books I've read in a long time.

Finn could stand on its own, even if there had never been a Huckleberry Finn. It's that well-written and beautifully executed. But the fact it does base itself on the iconic classic, and does it so well, gives it a new facet altogether. The book should be studied alongside Twain's book in the university classroom. It should be studied in writing classes, as well. This is what we need more of in contemporary American writing. It's a substantial, brilliantly executed book that's both pain and pleasure within the same cover. As difficult to read as it is, due to its often unflinching brutality, its poetic beauty of style and form make it about as compelling as fiction gets.

Finn is one of the best contemporary books I've read in a very long time. It restored a lot of my faith in modern writing at a time when that was flagging. I look forward to what comes from Jon Clinch next. Whatever that is, I have no doubt it will be brilliant.

Comments

[lucette]

From another another English major (and now an English teacher)--I loved the Hours, too, and like you, sort of againt my will.
Can't wait to read Finn.

[Sheri]

Snotbag! Just kidding.

What a wonderful review! I can't wait to read Finn, it sounds terrific.

[Lesley]

From one English major to another, I loved this post!

Although I have to say, Wide Sargasso Sea complements Jane Eyre (one of my all-time favorite books) quite nicely.

I've never read anything by Mark Twain though (growing up in Canada, he wasn't as much of an icon as here in the States), so I suppose I should before I attempt Finn.

[Bybee]

I put this on my wishlist the moment I heard about it. Thanks so much for your review. I think. Now I have to restrain myself from buying again!

[Jill]

Having only just read Huck Finn for the first time in recent months, it is true that this sounds intriguing and perhaps worth while investigating before the effect of the original has entirely worn off.

[Susan Balée]

Whooey, boy. Now I know I've gotta read "Finn." The author lives around Philly, or used to, and our book critic interviewed him. "Finn" may be his first published novel, but he's got boxes of unpublished ones. He was honing his craft, obviously. (I've never yet met a first-rate writer whose first book was literally the first thing he/she had written. Oh, it's a craft as well as an art and it takes PRACTICE.)

Someone else who works here -- and reads two books a week, though he's not a book reviewer -- told me "Finn" was one of the best books he'd read in a long time. So, since I used to teach "Huckleberry Finn," I guess I should read this version from Pap's viewpoint.

By the way, I too love "Jane Eyre" and so I've never read "The Wide Sargasso Sea" either. But I feel like I should; it's supposed to be a good novel.

Sigh. So many books, so little time.

[Matt]

Haha...tell me about it! I used to be so snobbish (I still can be) even though I'm not an English major. I was the one who advocated about how bookstores should separate literature from puffy airport fiction. Go figure.

As to Linda's comment, I got a couple of the Thursday Next series but find it very difficult to get into them. So I sold them back to the used store.

I'm reading Gentle Axe, something that has spun off from Dostoevsky.

[Simon]

Hey Lisa,
lovely to see you back in the ether, hope all is ok your side of the Atlantic. Well, one corner of Illinois more particularly. Wonderful review, and if I ever get round to reading Twain, Clinch will be next...
By the by, I sent you something snail-mail about 2.5 weeks ago... has it arrived yet? I don't know how long things are supposed to take to get to USA.
Oh. And does this mean English students can't be literary snobs anymore? Not sure I'm gonna sign up to that one... ;-)

[TLB]

My god--high praise indeed! I shall have to read it.

[Linda Gillard]

Wow, Bluestalking, Mr. Clinch will be a happy man when he reads that review. You do know how to sell 'em.

I've never read HUCKLEBERRY FINN and was intrigued you think FINN can actually stand alone, something that I don't think (?) is true of either WIDE SARGASSO SEA or THE HOURS. I'm happy for writers to mess with the classics but have to admit I've never got on with Jasper Fforde's literary recycling. The idea appeals but not the execution.

[Karen]

So glad you're back with us, Ms. Bluestalking, and with a typically compelling review to boot!

[Andi]

Somehow I wound up the anti-English-major English major. I'm the one who can't get through Wuthering Heights to save my life, who would rather eat nails than read Moby Dick, who's writing her thesis on...comics.

I love me some play with the classics, and this one sounds right up my alley. I adored The Hours and count it among my all-time faves, and I have yet to read Wide Sargasso Sea...but I will. Oh I will.

Glad to see you back. Missed your posts muchly.