Huck Out West: A Novel

At the end of Huckleberry Finn, on the eve of the Civil War, Huck and Tom Sawyer decide to escape “sivilization” and “light out for the Territory.” In Robert Coover’s vision of their Western adventures, Tom decides he’d rather own civilization than escape it, leaving Huck “dreadful lonely” in a country of bandits, war parties, and gold. In the course of his ventures, Huck reunites with old friends, facing hard truths and even harder choices.

About the Author :
Robert Coover (1932—2024) was the author of Huck Out West, among many other works of fiction. He was a pioneer in the field of electronic writing, and founded the International Writers Project, a freedom-to-write program, at Brown University.

Review :
"Magical.… Among the many elements that Coover imitates so well is Twain’s misanthropy, his macabre sense of humor and his perpetually offended innocence.… Indeed, everybody seems to be growing old except Huck, who remains a voice of perplexed kindness, and Coover…a miraculously sharp writer." "Huck Out West [is] the latest to emerge from this wild genius’s half-century outpouring of postmodernist books, stories, novellas and plays.… Under Coover’s hell-hot pen.… this pulsating anti-epic… establishes Huck in exactly the place Twain himself planned to take him." "A spacious-skies frontier ripsnorter that stands alone as a wildly funny, violently imaginative Western yarn with flamboyant plot turns and caustic humor Twain himself might have appreciated, if not envied.… [A] droll yet faithful replication of Twain’s first-person narration." "Rowdy, funny, and brilliant.… It’s not necessary to remember Mark Twain’s classic to enjoy this tale.… It’s Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian narrated by the good-natured Huck.… Coover takes Twain’s characters and creates a worthy extension of their lives. In doing that, he creates a scathing vision of the violent Westward movement as seen through the innocent eyes of Huckleberry Finn." "Mr. Coover has been one of the country's leading postmodernists. But Huck Out West doesn't deconstruct The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn so much as reprise it…as in Twain's original, the winsome humor of Huck's 'muddytatings' lend the story a deceptive innocence." "An astonishing picaresque novel, narrated by Huck himself in a voice as authentic as Twain's original creation.…Huck Out West is simply splendid, raucous, ribald and rib-ticklin'. After fifty years of incredible novels, this is another one of Coover's triumphs." "An extraordinary book.… a beautifully earnest and direct work from perhaps the most formidable trickster in American letters. Anyone with an ounce of heart in their chests should read this immediately." "In Huck Out West, Robert Coover brilliantly (and outrageously) revives Mark Twain’s cardinal character by way of deconstructing any number of our cherished myths. Coover is in fine antic form here—truly, Huck never had it so good." "A giant stands on the shoulders of a giant, and the view is large and giddying. In its vibrant skylarking and in its yearning undertow, this disenchanted enchantment throws new light on Twain’s America—and on Robert Coover's."