The Last Huck - by J D Austin (Paperback)

About the Book

Jakob, Niklas, and Peter Kinnunen grew up playing together on a family berry farm on the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan's U.P. The three of them inherit the land when their beloved uncle passes away, but Peter needs cash to save his son

Book Synopsis

Winner of the U.P. Notable Books Award (2024)

"The Last Huck stands out as one of the most impressive debut novels of this decade." --Joseph D. Haske, author of North Dixie Highway

Jakob, Niklas and Peter Kinnunen grew up playing together on their family's berry farm on the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan's U.P. The three of them inherit the land when their beloved uncle passes away, but Jakob goes to prison and Peter, who goes broke during the 2008 financial crash, calls Niklas and suggests they sell the land for fast cash. Niklas fights back against Peter, but Peter convinces Niklas to take a trip up north, from their homes in Milwaukee, to visit the place and get closure. Haunted by their childhoods and the absence of their beloved Jakob, they spend the weekend drinking, fighting, reminiscing and trying to figure out whether or not to sell. Woven together with moments going back four generations, The Last Huck is the saga of a family ravaged by time and modernity, yet holding on to one another for dear life.

"...an honest, absorbing, and ultimately redemptive saga with the expansive reach of Steinbeck, the spare immediacy of Carver, and the relentless plot and slashing irony of Franzen. It reads at times like like a fairy tale and at times like a dispatch from the cultural front lines, where young men must navigate the roughness and tenderness required to be fully human in modern times." -- George F. Lewis, Daily Mining Gazette

"In his first novel, J.D. Austin vividly captures the painful conflicts among the young men as they spend one last weekend in a place that were the scenes of their happiest childhood memories." --Jon C. Stott, author, Summers at the Lake: Upper Michigan Moments and Memories

"We are a large country with many regional literatures. I find the analogy between the 19th-century regional novel and J.D. Austin's The Last Huck provocative and literate." -Donald M. Hassler, Professor Emeritus of English, Kent State University

"The adventure that ensues not only immediately draws the reader in, but does so in a fashion that makes it virtually impossible to put the book down. It is always a joy for seasoned sojourners to witness young talent, such as J. D. Austin, blossom and flourish as we pass through this life." --Michael Carrier (MA NYU), author, Jack Handler Murder Mysteries / Hardboiled Thrillers

"The Last Huck stands out as one of the most impressive debut novels of this decade. The characters, sardonic, clever, and intensely authentic, efficaciously propel Austin's masterful narrative through the backdrop of Michigan's Upper Peninsula like skate blades cutting Lake Superior ice in late winter. With this splendid, unforgettable, first effort, J.D. Austin proves himself a name to watch out for in American letters." --Joseph D. Haske, author of North Dixie Highway

"From the first sentence, you know this novel was written by a master. And The Last Huck happens to be J.D. Austin's first literary novel; add to that, Austin real young.His deep characterizations, strange and haunting plot, and his words (Oh, those elegant, rugged words!) boggled my mind. Talented? You better believe it. This is a guy to watch, maybe with a touch of envy, but mostly with an ecstatic realization that we've just added a giant to the ranks of Midwest authors the likes of Jim Harrison, Charles Baxter, Bonnie Jo Campbell, and Stuart Dybek." --Sue Harrison, author of Mother Earth Father Sky

J.D. AUSTIN has resided in the Keweenaw since 2019. He has worked as a kayak guide, ski technician and stage carpenter, among other vocations. Austin's fiction has appeared in The Incandescent Review and U.P. Reader Vol. 7. The Last Huck is his first nove

Review Quotes

"Austin weaves the stories of the ancestors in Calumet, Hancock, and Marquette together with the drinking, fighting, and fretting of the current generation as they watch their legacy fall apart. The result is an honest, absorbing, and ultimately redemptive saga with the expansive reach of Steinbeck, the spare immediacy of Carver, and the relentless plot and slashing irony of Franzen. It reads at times like like a fairy tale and at times like a dispatch from the cultural front lines, where young men must navigate the roughness and tenderness required to be fully human in modern times" -- George F. Lewis, Daily Mining Gazette

"The Last Huck tells a tale all too familiar for Yoopers: whether or not to sell family property that has been handed down over generations. It's a bittersweet tale of mourning the past, accepting harsh economic realities that cause people to leave the U.P. and the continual dream to return to the land they consider home. J.D. Austin's tear-jerker about family and a sense of place will speak to readers on many levels." -Tyler R. Tichelaar, award-winning author of My Marquette and Kawbawgam: The Chief, The Legend, The Man

"If The Last Huck is any indication, J.D. Austin is a young author who will have a long and successful career. The story of a Finnish family caught between holding on to tradition and the need for ready cash is told with raw language and emotion. Memories of a happy childhood on the family farm clash with the reality of a four-day weekend when adult brothers and cousins confront their demons. Austin's attention to detail and description is both gripping and tender as he probes into the past and how it affects the future." -Sharon M. Kennedy, author The SideRoad Kids

"A deep love of land and the sorrow of losing it are the emotions underlying this powerful account of two cousins journeying to Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula to sell property they share so that one may pay the medical expenses of a young child. In his first novel, J.D. Austin vividly captures the painful conflicts between the young men as they spend one last weekend in places that were the scenes of their happiest childhood memories." -Jon C. Stott, author of Summers at the Lake: Upper Michigan Moments and Memories

"From the first sentence, you know this novel was written by a master. And The Last Huck happens to be J.D. Austin's first literary novel; add to that, Austin real young.His deep characterizations, strange and haunting plot, and his words (Oh, those elegant, rugged words!) boggled my mind. Talented? You better believe it. This is a guy to watch, maybe with a touch of envy, but mostly with an ecstatic realization that we've just added a giant to the ranks of Midwest authors the likes of Jim Harrison, Charles Baxter, Bonnie Jo Campbell, and Stuart Dybek." --Sue Harrison, author of Mother Earth Father Sky

"In The Last Huck, young U.P. writer J.D. Austin picks a topic that is familiar to almost every family with aging or recently deceased members. Here, Nik (Niklas), his brother Jakob and cousin Peter, have taken possession of a farm passed down to them at the death of their Uncle Jussi. And Peter, who is in dire need of some quick cash, wants to sell the farm-even, if need be, via a Quit Claim Deed. However, the other two are not so much interested in dispatching the family property, much less doing it rapidly. The adventure that ensues not only immediately draws the reader in, but does so in a fashion that makes it virtually impossible to put the book down. Austin further provides many additional surprises along the way, his delightful work. It is always a joy for seasoned sojourners to witness young talent blossom and flourish as we pass through this life. You've done a great job here, Austin. Congratulations!" -Michael Carrier (MA NYU), author of 17 Jack Handler Mysterie