One of the 5 or so books I'm reading right now is Finn by Jon Clinch. Clinch endeavors to tell the story of Huck's father, as a way to possibly explain the forces that shaped young Huck. This is not a book you tear through. It is blunt and brutal, as the story of Finn would have to be. But the writing is both spare and beautiful. I'm fascinated by the juxtaposition of brutality and beauty, both in this book and in the last great movie I saw, Pan's Labyrinth. Twain's Huck Finn is easily one of the greatest American novels, and Clinch is brave to link his debut to such history, but thus far he really pulls it off.
3 comments:
Hey, thanks for the mention.
I hope Finn continues speaking to you. It's funny: I thought of this book as I was watching Pan's Labyrinth, too. The father, the assault with the bottle...
'No worries' on the mention, and a big ol' YES to the continuation! First novels have a tendency to finish poorly, but Finn suffers from none of this. I've been pushing this book on people to the point where I'll most likely be told to shut up soon...
I like that kind of juxtaposition. I haven't read this book (yet), but Pan's Labyrinth reminded me (just a bit) of an independent film from New Zealand, which interested me long before Jackson coopted Tolkien, because of rugby ...
New Zealand is indeed beautiful, but I watched that thing and thought: "What a great film! And I'm never, ever, watching it again ..." Of course I have. And I'll see Pan again, but I thought the marketing a bit suspicious. I bet some people were expecting "Fairy Tale" (Bill Nighy, not a Barrymore in sight).
Whoops.
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