An adaptation/extension of Huck Finn, entirely based on the scene where Jim and Huck find his father dead in a broken, floating house, shot, with scribbles all over the walls. From there, Clinch creates a history and life for Huck's father and mother. Perhaps the strangest of these was that Huck's mother was black a former slave Finn takes up with and eventually murders. I'm not entirely sure why that development was necessary- I don't believe there's anything in Huck Fin that necessitates that explanation.
The three part timeline makes the book very confusing for the first three quarters, and only really comes together at the very end.
I found it hard to muster much sympathy for any of the characters. Drunk, or meek, or arrogant, or all of the above. Finn, of course, was the worst, and had virtually nothing redeeming about him. Well written, but it's hard to enjoy a book that's so universally negative.