What Huckleberry Finn might say about immigration and the LA River
"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," first published in the United States in 1885 and considered one of the greatest works of American literature, tells the story of a boy's travels along the Mississippi River and his friendship with a slave named Jim.
More than 130 years later, Mark Twain's classic has been rebooted with a distinctly modern, Southern California flavor with writer Tim DeRoche's new novel, "The Ballad of Huck & Miguel."
DeRoche sets his version along the Los Angeles River. Huck once again has an abusive father, Pap. But this Pap rails against the so-called Mexigrants, who he fears are taking away U.S. jobs. Huck manages to escape his father and finds a new home with two wealthy women who employ an immigrant named Miguel, who is in the country illegally.