FOLLOWING HUCK

College buddies decide to re-create Huck Finn’s trip down the Mississippi in Zalesny’s memoir.

Zalesny was a student at Loyola University in Southern California in the late 1950s when a professor wondered if anyone was interested in sailing down the Mississippi River just as Huckleberry Finn did in Mark Twain’s novel. An enthusiastic group of six came up with a plan for their summer break. Inspired by Twain and the recent documentary Kon-Tiki (1950), the friends built raft models and tried them out in the bathtub. Satisfied they could meet the challenge, the “River Rats” headed out onto Route 66, ending up in Hannibal, Missouri, the hometown of Mark Twain. The boys built their raft out of wood and oil drums, with a lean-to covered in a tarp for shelter. Barely floating but helped by an outboard motor, they set off on the treacherous river hoping to reach New Orleans, with storms, barges, and waves threatening the trip and their survival. They were also concerned about segregation and racism in the South; one member of the group was Latino and another Japanese American. Zalesny’s memoir captures the innocence and the sense of adventure of its young crew while always remaining aware of the difficulties of such an ambitious undertaking. With six egos on a small raft there was a lot of bickering, and in terms of the narrative, some characters aren’t developed as well as the others. But despite their slow progress, they were determined to succeed. Zalesny stays true to the realities of this excursion, which is a dirty, muddy, and dangerous affair. One of many involving passages highlights the infamous, cursed quasi-island that is the southernmost town in Illinois. (“Cairo was dying a slow lingering death; its prolonged death rattle was practically obscene.”) It didn’t all go according to plan, but their collective achievement is worth the read.

An entertaining, true coming-of-age adventure about a courageous group.