James
A Novel
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4.6 • 418 Ratings
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A brilliant, action-packed reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both harrowing and darkly humorous, told from the enslaved Jim's point of view
"Genius"—The Atlantic • "A masterpiece that will help redefine one of the classics of American literature, while also being a major achievement on its own."—Chicago Tribune • "A provocative, enlightening literary work of art."—The Boston Globe • "Everett’s most thrilling novel, but also his most soulful."—The New York Times
When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father, recently returned to town. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and too-often-unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond.
While many narrative set pieces of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn remain in place (floods and storms, stumbling across both unexpected death and unexpected treasure in the myriad stopping points along the river’s banks, encountering the scam artists posing as the Duke and Dauphin…), Jim’s agency, intelligence and compassion are shown in a radically new light.
Brimming with the electrifying humor and lacerating observations that have made Everett a “literary icon” (Oprah Daily), and one of the most decorated writers of our lifetime, James is destined to be a major publishing event and a cornerstone of twenty-first century American literature.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Percival Everett (whose novel Erasure became the hit film American Fiction) takes a big swing with James—and he knocks it out of the park. In this recasting of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, the familiar story is told by the teen’s partner on his journey down the Mississippi: Jim, a Black man who has escaped from enslavement (and he prefers to be called James, if you don’t mind). Everett takes the opportunity to reimagine Black life in the Antebellum South in much the same way Colson Whitehead does in The Underground Railroad. Here, enslaved Black people are literate and well-educated, and they only slip into the exaggerated dialect Twain famously gave his Black characters when white people might be listening. As James and Huck near their destination, Everett shifts the storyline in a smart new direction (one we won’t spoil here). Even if you haven’t read Huckleberry Finn since your high school English class (or ever!), James is a thrilling, funny adventure and a thoughtful commentary on how Black men are depicted in American literature.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
As in his classic novel Erasure, Everett portrays in this ingenious retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn a Black man who's mastered the art of minstrelsy to get what he needs from gullible white people. Many of the same things happen as they do in Twain's original: Jim escapes from enslavement on a Missouri farm and joins up with Huck, a white boy who's faked his own death. Huck is fleeing from his abusive father, while Jim is hoping to find a way to free his wife and daughter. The main difference is in the telling. Jim narrates, not Huck, and in so doing he reveals how he employs "slave" talk ("correct incorrect grammar") when white people can hear, to make them feel safe and superior. Everett also pares down the prose and adds humor in place of sentimentality. When Huck and Jim come upon a band of slave hunters, Huck claims Jim, who's covered by a tarp, is a white man infected with smallpox ("We keep thinkin' he gone die, then he just don't"). Clever additions to the narrative include a tense episode in which Jim is fraudulently sold by a slaver to "Dixie" composer Daniel Decatur Emmett, who has Jim perform in blackface with his singing troupe. Jim's wrenching odyssey concludes with remarkable revelations, violent showdowns, and insightful meditations on literature and philosophy. Everett has outdone himself.
Customer Reviews
More than a re-telling
Twain struggled for years trying to complete The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Most readers agree that the ending is makeshift and unsatisfactory. Mr. Everett’s novel is the completed version that Twain struggled for in vain. Twain’s problem was that he needed for the central character to be a Black enslaved man, but nothing in his experience helped him to realize that character. Instead, he told it from the point of view of one of his stock characters, a (formerly) poor white boy. In James the runaway slave is a fully realized human being, and stands in his central role.
The other side
With homage to Sam Clemens, this is Jim’s/James’ story. Beautifully written, James is presented as a fully developed man: an introspective, thoughtful, clear and forceful in his mind and beliefs. A husband, a father, a teacher: knows what he wants and must do. And nothing will stop him. Highly recommended!
Far exceeded my expectations
I loved it. He stays close to the plot of Huck Finn, and adds persuasive detail. I don’t want to spoil anything, but adding James’s perspective to Huck’s story is most welcome.