4.5

In James we have a re-telling of part of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn but it's so much more than just that.

We begin with Jim escaping, with Huck, on learning thar he is to be sold. Huck runs because his abusive father has returned to town and Huck fears for his life.

I am afraid it has been a very long time since I read any Twain but parts of Jim and Huck's story did come back to me while I was reading this novel.

What Percival Everett does do brilliantly is to turn what you think you know about slaves utterly on its head. Jim is educated - can read and write, and when he is not performing for whites, has perfect diction. I guess this is one of those things that I always assumed was true. If you look at any subjugated people's they will find a way to get an education. I suppose what I always thought must be hard was hiding it from the "masters".

James doesn't have the visceral horror that The Trees gave us nor is it as laugh out loud funny/horrifying as I Am Not Sidney Poitier but Everett has constrained himself somewhat by sticking to Jim's part in Huck's story - albeit Jim being the planner and carer in this instance.

There are lots of surprising and frankly nauseating parts to the story but you couldn't possibly tell a tale of slavery without that. It will remain a permanent mark in history that we should never forget or romanticise.

Highly recommended. Yet another triumph of a book from one of America's most brilliant novelists.

Thankyou very much to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the advance review copy.

Like most American teens, I read Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in high school. I don’t remember the book having much of an impact on me, in fact, I think it might have been one of the few books that I ended up finishing on Sparknotes. However, when I saw that Percival Everett had written a retelling from Jim (or now better referred to as James) POV, I had a feeling I would enjoy it much more than its original counterpart. I did listen to some of Huck Finn on audiobook to do some prep, however, while I still enjoyed and appreciated the original Missouri dialect that Twain leverages easily, the constant use of the n-word was incredibly off-putting and at points distracting. While it made me a bit anxious to read Everett’s version, I should have known the care that he would put into modernizing the language and story. James gives new life to this classic tale, further inspecting race, slavery, class, and more, walking the fine line between telling a humours adventure but pointing out the horrors that took place in tandem. James reminds white audiences especially of the brutality and barbarity of slavery that is so often glossed over in the traditional classical books we often read growing up.

Growing up in England Huckleberry Finn wasn't part of my growing up. I have an idea of the story but I think i would've enjoyed this more if i been more aware of the details.
As it is this is still a strong story. i liked the simple-seeming writing style, this felt like a book aimed at younger people, but it is very obviously an adult book.
I found some of the dialogue quite profound and liked how some very shocking scenes were written quite matter-of-fact which actually made them hit harder.

A great retelling of a well-known story (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn) told from the perspective of Jim, the slave that originally accompanied Huck in Twain's story. Jim is smart and educated, I loved spending time with him and getting to know him in this book.

The voice of Percival Everett shines through this book. Similarly to The Trees, there are truly funny moments included in an otherwise difficult storyline.

The short chapters made me gobble it up. I will be recommending this book for a while. Definitely something that should be read in schools.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

👨🏾 REVIEW 👨🏾

James by Percival Everett
Release Date: 11th April

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

📝 - A retelling of Huckleberry Finn, but told from the perspective of Jim, the slave accompanying Huck. When Jim heard that he is to be sold to another slave owner far from his wife and child, he has no choice but to flee, risking his life. Huck Finn, a white boy from the same town, has also decided to run away, escaping the abuse from his father. Together Jim and Huck try to survive while also evading those on the hunt for Jim.

💭 - As the rating suggests, this was a brilliant read. I have at least two other Percival Everett reads on my tbr and now I’m so excited to read them. He writes with such humour even in topics of slavery and the associated violence, but this doesn’t take away from the story at all. I loved the way he created Jim’s character (I can’t say I remember how much of a personality Jim was given in the original) and the relationship between Huck and Jim. A really brilliant read, and very fast-paced too!

Is this one on your radar?

#james #percivaleverett #readblackauthors #readdiversebooks #literary #literature #literaryfictionreaders #literaryfiction #huckleberryfinn #retelling #2024release #boosbookishchallenge2024 #fiction #classicfiction

Loved James by Percival Everett., to see the then world from Jim's perspective. The characters from the story where so alive due to the writing style and all the moments from the book either the funny ones, the sad ones or the scary ones where James is followed or hunted by the King and the Duke or the slave owners felt so real.
5 stars, less than that is not possible.

New narrative on the story of Huckleberry Finn, well written.
The book is thought provoking both in the treatment of slaves and their masters. The paddle boats on the Mississippi, and just excellent description of their surroundings

It is the first time I have read any books by Percival Everett, but it will definitely not be the last

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this book.

JAMES is the first book I have read by Everett and will by no means be the last. This was incredibly written, very emotive and like nothing I've read before. I immediately have gone and purchased previous titles by Everett and can see this novel being in my top five reads of this year (early to say in March!). Highly recommend.

A masterful retelling of the classic American tale that was due a little historical revision. As in his Booker-winning The Trees, Everett's voice is as powerful as it is unique. Definitely recommended.

This book is just brilliant. I've never read Twain's work so this was new to me, whether or not that's a good thing I don't know.
Having read The Trees last year which was a definite 5 star read I was thrilled to get this book and it did not disappoint. I absolutely loved it. The writing style, the language, the humour and writing from the perspective of the slave it was all just fantastic.
Another Booker nominee Mr Everett if there's any justice

Having never read Huckleberry Finn ( To Kill A Mockingbird was the school text of the seventies) or the books of Percival Everett, James was read with no influence/underlying thoughts of Mark Twain although the plot of the 'original' book was familiar
James is a simply superb novel- this is an incredibly powerful and thought provoking story- turning HF on its head and telling the story from the perspective of James.
James/Jim , his wife Sadie and daughter Lizzie are all slaves to Miss Watson. James talks and supports Huckleberry Finn. But when Finn's father returns home from time away, the boy fears for his life and fakes his own death; at the same time Jim finds out he is to be sold and separated from his wide and daughter and goes on the run. His disappearance along with the boy results in people believing he killed Huckleberry; the two go on the run.
What follows is dramatic, heartbreaking and incredible storytelling. Jim's ability to read and write and speak with eloquence is something no slave should do - he even hides this from Finn. Their journey together is not easy and at certain points they are separated. Jim finds himself working for a violent blacksmith and also timber merchant, singing in a "black face" choir and encountering a myriad of people- other slaves and slave owners.
Slavery, oppression, intelligence ,colour and identity, racial stereotypes are all present shining a clear light on the dark history of America- how different are things in a true societal context.

This is an important novel and one that deserves recognition and plaudits.Percival Everett has written a modern masterpiece.

First, let's be clear, this is a brilliant novel. Not easy to read for many reasons: the content, being the main thing, but also the narrative style, which takes some getting into. Still, you *do* get into it, and the absolute talent of Everett, you realise, is right there in your hands. As the blurb says, the Huck Finn influence is clear, but the skill that Everett has in storytelling and narrative technique makes for a poignant and often highly suspenseful novel. Surely, bound to be a prize winner, this. My thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for the privilege (and it was) of reading an advance copy.

James is a retelling of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, from the perspective of Jim, the slave.

I haven't read Mark Twain's original book so half way through I had to do some background reading in order to grasp the story fully. And once I familiarised myself with the events of Twain's book, i thoroughly enjoyed James. Without that context a lot of the scenes didn't make sense to me.

In Twains original from the background research I did, I'm made to believe that he employed racial stereotypes of gullibility, superstition and simple mindedness ie being uneducated to characterise Jim and he uses the Black Dialect to emphasise this characterisation. This racial stereotyping has been problematic for black readers since its publication and also for contemporary readers.

In Everett’s telling, Jim is self educated and the dialect is a put on, a manner of concealment, and a tactic for survival. This is extremely profound and completely flips the narrative and I believe it is what makes the novel so special and a must read. Plus there's a revelation later on which explains Jim's unwavering loyalty to Huck.

The first part of the novel is funny but gets bloodier and grimer as it progresses as the harsh inhumane reality of slavery is explicitly shown. It was quite difficult to read these passages. Jim recounts these events in a very emotionally detached but matter of fact style which I felt was brilliant because slaves couldn't afford to be emotional in the face of the brutality of their existence. They had to be 'strong' and detached emotionally from the separations, the inhumane and sadistic treatment they were subjected to.

Overall I enjoyed the book but I feel it's one you'll enjoy even more if you know the original Mark Twain story.

I kind of enjoyed reading this book but I struggled a little. Thank you to the writer, publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me to read it.

A solid read. The middle section of this book, once Huck is offscreen, is REALLY good. The first 40%, in which we're basically reproducing events from Huck Finn, got a bit repetitive for me. But once Jim (or James, rather) is on his own things really pick up. I REALLY liked the twist at the end - fascinating subtext to think about! - and I liked Jim's adventures; they definitely kept me turning the pages. This book reminded me of "Kindred" and "Parable of the Talents", via the different set-pieces/scenes that evoke how brutal life was for slaves (especially the sawmill section). I'm very interested in reading interviews by this author once this book comes out - overall, this was a great concept.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

James by Percival Everett

I first read Huckleberry Finn when I was 12 years old. It was our class reader - red, tatty and with countless other pupils names crossed out inside the front cover. My enduring memory was one of a rousing adventure around The Mississippi River. Now, nearly 40 years later, reacquainted with Huck and slave Jim, is an opportunity to relive some of those adventures seen through Jim’s eyes. I’m not sure if it this new interpretation, my advancing age or whether my recollection is clouded by the passing of so many years, but the adventure, although much in evidence, is greatly overshadowed by the despicable racism and unbearable cruelty of slave era America. Jim, now James is able to show us, the readers, his bravery and intellect, instead of hiding it from the white folks of the story.

This is a magnificently paced, beautifully written novel.It is also a reminder that the value of human life in monetary terms is an abomination; of the wretchedness and absurdity of intolerance.
One of the books of the year.

#docs.reading.room

Published 11 April 2024. I'm not sure if I ever read 'Huck Finn' when I was younger, but a knowledge of the book was not needed for this novel which has been described as funny, but I found it anything but. I found it hard to read at times, harrowing even. While in the 'Huck Finn' novel, Jim, the slave, is very much a secondary character - I believe - here he is the main voice. We hear his voice, but here he is not Jim, he is James. He can read and write, he discusses philosophy with John Locke in his dreams, he looks out for his wife and daughter and has compassion for those around him. The book opens with extracts from Daniel Emmett's notebook, lines written in slave language, but written by a white man who appears in the novel. And so you have the idea that the masters expect slaves to talk and act in a certain way and this is what we see in James. The book opens with James/Jim waiting for Miss Watson to give him some cornbread. He talks to her in the way that she expects but once he is in his own space with his wife and daughter, his speech changes. There is one part where he is teaching the children how to speak to the white folk. So through the novel you get to see James as eloquent and smart and you feel for his condition, the fact that he is owned. So when he learns that he is to be sold and taken from his wife and daughter, he runs away. He is joined by Huck who has also run away from his abusive father and the two set out together down the river. James knows that the way he speaks impacts on the way people see him so he has to always make sure that he uses slave language around Huck although you get the impression that Huck likes James/Jim. But as the novel progresses, the author does not pull any punches with his graphic scenes of violence against slaves and although I believe that the story almost follows the 'Huck Finn' original at the beginning, we soon take a different and more treacherous path. And as for the ending - WOW! Rounded up to 5*

In James, Percival Everett combines an enthralling plot with a subversive message tinged with a dark humour.

Taking Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as his starting point, Everett tells the story of Jim the black slave who appears in the book. At the height of the book's popularity, the vast majority of Twain's white readership would have at best held black people in low esteem and at worst not even seen them as people. James is, therefore, a reclaiming of the narrative and an invitation to confront a past where such views not only went unchallenged but were immortalised as part of the American literary canon.

I am so grateful to black writers like Everett who use their talent to give voice to characters like Jim. There is a reason why white slave owners were so resolute in their determination to stop their slaves from ever learning to read or write. There is power in the written word and in having the agency to tell your own story.

140 years after Twain's book was first published, Everett has given us the opportunity to read Jim's story in his own words and it is a truly transformative experience. I do not use this word lightly but in my view James is a masterpiece and a must-read.

What a fantastic book! I love the story of Huckleberry Finn so I enjoyed this book which is from the viewpoint of Jim. It’s thought provoking and heartbreaking. It does have humour scattered throughout. Overall, a brilliant read.

James by Percival Everett: A Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Everett’s "James" is a compelling reimagining of Twain's classic, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", seen through the eyes of Jim (who prefers James), now the protagonist and narrator. This shift in perspective adds a fresh twist and brings it up to date and deftly handles the problematic parts of the original.
For those not familiar with the story, Huck, fleeing his abusive father, and Jim, an enslaved man seeking freedom, journey together down the Mississippi River, navigating untrustworthy characters and situations.
The novel explores race, prejudice and the intricacies of trust and human connection in the face of adversity.
There was humour and farce, pain and suffering, as well as love and sacrifice. I rushed through the 300-ish pages and would definitely recommend it.