Huck Out West by Robert Coover

This far fetched story is really a history lesson in disguise as Huck Finn roams around the Wild West in search of adventure and getting far away from the life he and Tom Sawyer had as kids. After Tom goes back to civilization leaving Huck lost and alone, Huck tries his hand at just about everything imaginable from bronco busting, cattle rustling to indian scouting. Through it all there is a sense of loneliness and fear of the future. He doesn't have a home and he doesn't have Tom or even Jim as his anchor. Huck's voice "can go to makin your head ache after reading fer too long a spell" but it brings to the story an air of truthfulness and is as seamless as if you were reading the next book in Mark Twain's delightful classic. We feel Huck's sense of boyish adventure and his lack of understanding of the violence and sadness around him. It is one of this country's most dangerous, violent and exciting times and you are there for it all.