JAMES

by Percival Everett

To undertake the retelling of Mark Twain’s classic book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn could seem an incredible act of hubris.  But to rewrite the iconic story from the perspective of Jim, the Black slave who is as crucial to the story as Huck himself, was absolute genius.  In James, Percival Everett has forever changed how readers will view the story of Huckleberry Finn.  What an absolutely perfect way to open our eyes to how different one story can be when it’s told from two different perspectives.  Especially when one perspective is from a free, white boy and the other is from an enslaved Black man.

I was one of those people who wondered whether to truly appreciate James, I should first read Huckleberry Finn.  I decided that even if I had read Huckleberry Finn as an adolescent, I certainly didn’t remember it.  So, I read Huckleberry Finn and then read James.  It was an incredibly powerful experience -- one that I highly recommend. I appreciate how Everett follows the sequence of adventures as Twain wrote them, while at the same time making them his own.  Not only did James’ different perspective alter my opinion of the adventures, but Everett adds key background details and plot twists that left my jaw hanging open.

If you don’t read another book in 2024, you must read James.  Everett’s portrayal of Jim/James will stay with you forever.  Its impact on generations of readers to come will be profound. (Liz)