The narrative of an adolescent travelling by water with an older companion, undergoing trials and ordeals, encountering scoundrels and villains, with glimpses of society from high to low as they drift pass: it doesn’t take long before the flavour of this picaresque novel starts to seem hauntingly familiar.
In his mid-teens towards the end of the 19th century, Dan, like Huckleberry Finn, escapes from a drunken father, and, though his journey is down the waterways of Europe rather than the Mississippi, the way he silently registers the corruption he sees all around him is deeply reminiscent of his literary forebear....
Already a subscriber? Log in
Easter flash sale:
10 issues for $1
Subscribe this Easter and get the next 10 issues of the magazine, plus website and app access, all for just $1.
- Weekly delivery of the magazine
- Unlimited access to spectator.com.au and app
- Spectator Australia podcasts and newsletters
- Full access to spectator.co.uk
Unlock 3 articles a month
You might disagree with half of it, but you’ll enjoy reading all of it. Try your first month for free, then just $2 a week for the remainder of your first year.
Comments
Easter flash sale: 10 issues for $1
Join the conversation with other Spectator Australia readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.
CLAIM OFFER 10 issues for $1Already a subscriber? Log in