Well, boo hoo. I've come to the stark realization that my quest for 52 books read this year is going to be more like 49 and this will likely be the last one. However I will keep logging books in 2015, so maybe I can chronicle my vindication of those missing three books!
Finn has been on my list a long time. In fact it somehow came to my attention when I was reading
Tom Sawyer and
Huckleberry Finn back in 2010, the books that inaugurated my era of classic reading. While
Finn itself doesn't qualify for that category, it's part of a venerable tradition of tapping into the "great conversation" creating by classic books and adding original thought that enhances the original work. In this case, author Jon Clinch turns all attention on Huck's father, the cruel and abusive (and nameless) man who meets a mysterious end. Clinch employs a non-chronological narrative that vacillates between a parallel to the
Huckleberry Finn story and the backstory of his father. It is interesting and I love the idea. However, in the end, the whole book left me a little cold.
Here are the "mainstream" fiction books I read this year, not including the classics, science fiction, and mystery titles:
- Under the Eagle by Simon Scarrow - The first book is a long series of ancient military fiction. While not blown away, I'm good for another.
- In God We Trust (All Others Pay Cash) by Jean Shepherd - The book that inspired the hit movie A Christmas Story. Quaint but fun.
- Sacre Bleu by Christopher Moore - Amusing but just OK novel by the very funny author. I still love Lamb too much to give up on him.
- Finn by Jon Clinch - see above!
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