A Book to get Excited About!

FINN, a Novel by Jon Cinch

Not since Harry Potter have I been so excited about a new book release. But, the buzz on the publishing streets says this one is going to be big - very big. Available on February 20th from Random House and Recorded Books.

About the book (from Amazon.com):

In this masterful debut by a major new voice in fiction, Jon Clinch takes us on a journey into the history and heart of one of American literature’s most brutal and mysterious figures: Huckleberry Finn’s father. The result is a deeply original tour de force that springs from Twain’s classic novel but takes on a fully realized life of its own.

Finn sets a tragic figure loose in a landscape at once familiar and mythic. It begins and ends with a lifeless body–flayed and stripped of all identifying marks–drifting down the Mississippi. The circumstances of the murder, and the secret of the victim’s identity, shape Finn’s story as they will shape his life and his death.

Along the way Clinch introduces a cast of unforgettable characters: Finn’s terrifying father, known only as the Judge; his sickly, sycophantic brother, Will; blind Bliss, a secretive moonshiner; the strong and quick-witted Mary, a stolen slave who becomes Finn’s mistress; and of course young Huck himself. In daring to re-create Huck for a new generation, Clinch gives us a living boy in all his human complexity–not an icon, not a myth, but a real child facing vast possibilities in a world alternately dangerous and bright.

Finn is a novel about race; about paternity in its many guises; about the shame of a nation recapitulated by the shame of one absolutely unforgettable family. Above all, Finn reaches back into the darkest waters of America’s past to fashion something compelling, fearless, and new.

Mr. Cinch has created this very unique Official FINN Website which is utterly brilliant.

But it certainly takes more than some flashy website to attract readers. And since I wasn't privy to an advance copy, I'll take to take everyone elses word for it. Here's what the industry players are saying:

"A memorable debut, likely to make waves...A few incidents duplicate those in Twain, but the novels could not be more different; instead of Huck's unlettered child's voice, we have an omniscient narrative, grave, erudite, and rich in the secretions of adult knowledge; terse dialogue acts as an effective counterpoint. All along, Clinch's intent is to probe the nature of evil."-- Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Clinch lyrically renders the Mississippi River's ceaseless flow, while revealing Finn's brutal contradictions, his violence, arrogance and self-reproach. If Clinch's debut falls short of Twain's achievement, it does further Twain's fiction." --Publishers Weekly starred review

FINN is a Booksense Pick for March.

FINN has garnered praise from other wonderful authors like Sara Gruen, Robert Hicks and Mary Gaitskill. And you gotta take Bookslut seriously!

What else could you ask for? I expect to see everyone at their local bookstore this month, picking up their copy of this much anticipated novel.