Phong Nguyen, The Adventures of Joe Harper (Outpost19 Books): Nguyen, associate professor of English at the University of Central Missouri and co-editor of the lit journal Pleiades, has already proven himself to be a master of alternate histories; in fact, his last book was titled Pages From the Textbook of Alternate History. In a series of interlinking short stories, he used historical characters—including Plato, Jesus, Columbus, Joan of Arc, Benjamin Franklin, Einstein, Ho Chi Minh, and George W. Bush—to play a whimsical game of “What If?”
That question is central to his first novel, too, which riffs on Mark Twain’s fictional universe. The action picks up 20 years after The Adventures of Tom Sawyer left off, and focuses on Joe Harper—a character that Twain faded out as the action picked up. After making good on his career goal to become a pirate (see also Twain’s aforementioned classic and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn), weary Joe comes home to become a hermit, find a cave to crawl into, and kick the bucket. Instead, he crosses paths with a Chinese railroad worker and a young Amish woman, rides the rails across America, meets Brigham Young and Emperor Norton, and finally reunites with his old friend Tom—who’s not quite the charmer we remember.
In addition to writing a jubilant, wonderfully plotted literary spinoff, Nguyen ages Twain’s characters with the skill of a nimble forensic sketch artist, tells the stories of people marginalized during Twain’s time, truthfully but playfully writes about history, and has lots of fun with regional dialects and hobo lingo. And with his dry wit and energetic sentences, he does right by Twain.
Nguyen will read from and sign copies of Joe Harper at Left Bank Books (399 N. Euclid) at 7 p.m. on January 19. For more information, call 314-367-6731 or visit left-bank.com.
