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Finn
Imagine a modern-day retelling of Mark Twain’s classic The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , with a teenage girl and a very pregnant young Mexican as the main characters. That’s the gist of Matthew Olshan’s brilliant literary debut, A Novel . The book’s narrator is Chloe Wilder, a quiet girl, part tomboy, part survivor. Rescued from a murderous life with her mother, Chloe lives with her grandparents in the cocoon of a quiet, middle-class neighborhood. For the first time in her life, things are steady, safe―and stifling. Enter Silvia Morales, the grandparents' maid. Silvia is an illegal immigrant, but that’s not her only She’s also pregnant, a transgression that gets her kicked out of the house. Not long after, Chloe is torn from her quiet life too, and forced to live on the run. While Finn is about Chloe and Silvia’s comic mishaps―and their brushes with real danger―on the road, it’s also a dark portrait of modern America, where smug suburbanites live minutes away from the wilderness of inner cities, and once-mighty rivers meander under superhighways.
- GenresYoung Adult
188 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2001
8 people are currently reading
111 people want to read
About the author
Matthew Olshan
8 books14 followersI tend to think about stories in terms of the energy they release.
Some stories are a long slow burn of pathos; others flash before your eyes in a burst of delirium or delight. Still others seem to detonate inside of you, clearing the way for a new understanding.
A few exceedingly rare stories somehow manage to catalyze all of these reactions. Those are the most mysterious of all.
As a reader, I’m interested in all of these strange forms of combustion. A brilliant kids’ book is just as dazzling to me as a heartbreaking literary novel. I can’t imagine being fascinated by fireworks but somehow ignoring the subtle pleasure of the Northern Lights.
Unfortunately, we live in an era of specialization. The publishing world depends, like any business, on market segmentation and branding. It says: “You are a writer of children’s books;” or “You are a writer of serious books for grown-ups.” This poses a challenge to the writer who wants to experiment with stories in all their infinite diversity.
I’m a curious fellow. I like to learn how to do new things. This has led me to study languages living and dead; fly airplanes; sing Renaissance polyphony; restore antique machines; cook as if I were a citizen of every continent; renovate houses; croak like a Tuvan throat singer; soup-up computers; build a mud oven.
Through it all, there has always been writing. Novels, screenplays, children’s books, op-eds, letters, poems. Writing, like marriage, involves doing the same thing every day, but with fresh eyes and a willing heart.
In other words, it is a discipline: sometimes glorious, often maddening, but always new.
Some stories are a long slow burn of pathos; others flash before your eyes in a burst of delirium or delight. Still others seem to detonate inside of you, clearing the way for a new understanding.
A few exceedingly rare stories somehow manage to catalyze all of these reactions. Those are the most mysterious of all.
As a reader, I’m interested in all of these strange forms of combustion. A brilliant kids’ book is just as dazzling to me as a heartbreaking literary novel. I can’t imagine being fascinated by fireworks but somehow ignoring the subtle pleasure of the Northern Lights.
Unfortunately, we live in an era of specialization. The publishing world depends, like any business, on market segmentation and branding. It says: “You are a writer of children’s books;” or “You are a writer of serious books for grown-ups.” This poses a challenge to the writer who wants to experiment with stories in all their infinite diversity.
I’m a curious fellow. I like to learn how to do new things. This has led me to study languages living and dead; fly airplanes; sing Renaissance polyphony; restore antique machines; cook as if I were a citizen of every continent; renovate houses; croak like a Tuvan throat singer; soup-up computers; build a mud oven.
Through it all, there has always been writing. Novels, screenplays, children’s books, op-eds, letters, poems. Writing, like marriage, involves doing the same thing every day, but with fresh eyes and a willing heart.
In other words, it is a discipline: sometimes glorious, often maddening, but always new.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 8, 2020
I debated between three and four stars for this novel, but considering I read it in one evening and then discovered the connections to Huck Finn, I went with four stars. Mind. Blown.
I found this book in a stack of class sets to be discarded at my school library. I picked it up as I am always wondering about free books that might be good for teens (I am an English teacher). Although the plot seems unbelievable at times, thinking about what many youth deal with in our world today it’s not unfathomable, and since the narrator maintains a balance of humor, sarcasm, and sadness, I would use this in the classroom. It would be an engaging, relatable, and perfect piece to utilize with excerpts from the classic Adventures novel.
The lessons of white privilege are startling, but hit like a ton of bricks toward the end of the novel. I was almost like—okay typical happy ending—but the concept of power, money, and race spoke rather loudly to bring the novel to an astonishing close; there is a clear and an unfortunate realization that our world has a long way to travel toward the true place of equality and justice. Oh the classroom discussions this novel would spark! I would love a sequel, which the author seems to hint at, but I haven’t discovered one yet!
I found this book in a stack of class sets to be discarded at my school library. I picked it up as I am always wondering about free books that might be good for teens (I am an English teacher). Although the plot seems unbelievable at times, thinking about what many youth deal with in our world today it’s not unfathomable, and since the narrator maintains a balance of humor, sarcasm, and sadness, I would use this in the classroom. It would be an engaging, relatable, and perfect piece to utilize with excerpts from the classic Adventures novel.
The lessons of white privilege are startling, but hit like a ton of bricks toward the end of the novel. I was almost like—okay typical happy ending—but the concept of power, money, and race spoke rather loudly to bring the novel to an astonishing close; there is a clear and an unfortunate realization that our world has a long way to travel toward the true place of equality and justice. Oh the classroom discussions this novel would spark! I would love a sequel, which the author seems to hint at, but I haven’t discovered one yet!
May 16, 2023
Finn is ok. Maybe more of a 2.5 than a 3. I could see the similarities to Huckleberry Finn, but the writing is no comparison at all.
April 17, 2011
I thought "Finn: A Novel" by Matthew Olshan was an exciting modern day version of Mark Twain's book Huckleberry Finn. The main character of the book is a young girl named Chloe. Chloe is being raised by her grandparents who are very stereotypical people. When Chloe's fugitive mother kidnaps her and tries to get Chloe to help her rob her grandparents, Chloe decides to fake her own death and run away with her grandparent's pregnant maid. Together the two of them go on a trilling adventure that involves running away from the cops, a deranged bum, and her criminal mother. I think that this novel is a great book for teenagers to read. It gives them a good look at internal and external conflicts that teenagers have.
January 10, 2018
I think I would have enjoyed this more as a young teenager. As a nearly adult, I can see why this book is so well loved, and did enjoy reading it - but probably didn't get as much out of it as I would have at twelve or thirteen. The middle of the book rather surprised me - where Chloe and Silvia end up at the railway with Clark and James, and then end up in the park. It didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the book. I suppose it would probably have made more sense if I'd ever read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn! That will have to be another book to go on my Want To Read list.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 20, 2011
I don't know how I acquired this young adult novel, but I recently came across it on our bookshelf at home and decided I'd knock it out of the lineup by choosing it for my summer reading. It was readable and full of adventure; however, I can't decide if the racial and cultural stereotypes are there to point out ignorance to teen readers or if they merely provide fuel to perpetuate misinformation and prejudice. At least I'll have a question to open the discussion with in September.
June 12, 2009
Interesting retelling of Huck Finn, but I appreciated the cleverness more than the story itself.
July 2, 2009
Fast read, good little tale.
May 29, 2011
hey guess what? i just finished it on my way home from L.A.
June 19, 2013
this was surprisingly witty and a nice little find at the used bookstore.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews