Percival Everett's James is one of the best books I've read in a long while. I love a good retelling; Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead was one of my favorite reads last year. This, however, is not a retelling, it's a reimagining. It takes the narrative beats of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and imagines the story as told from Jim's POV. But here, Jim is James. He's intelligent, articulate, thoughtful, and as ambitious as a slave in Mississippi could hope to be. James (and his fellow slaves) all put on a show for the white people they encounter; they're smart enough, by the mid-1800s, to understand that the white folks feel more comfortable when they feel superior.

If you've read or are familiar with Huck Finn, you'll feel dropped into a world you recognize here. However, Huck is merely a means to an end; he and James find themselves on the run at the same time, and Huck is a reason for James to go on the path he ultimately takes. But this is entirely James's story, and it's all the better for it.

I don't want to say more because it should be read as blindly as possible. It's such a stunning piece of writing and it deserves as much attention as imagine it will recieve.

Five stars. Thanks to Doubleday and NetGalley for the ARC.

This book is so much more than a reimagining of the Huckleberry Finn story; it’s a take on slavery that reaches down to the core. There are acts of violence described enough to make you squirm and feel uncomfortable, but not over-the-top. At some point I started to question how long the main character would continue to go in and out of bad situations, but the ending made it all worth while. Great book!

A reimagining of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn that is recentered and retold from the perspective of Jim, whose chosen name is James. As in the original, James is an enslaved man who is entangled with Huck. However, in Everett's novel, Jim is highly educated, well-read, well-versed in code switching, and a multi-dimensional character. 
Everett's writing style is smart and witty, and you will find yourself laughing  throughout the book despite the heaviness. Everett does not shy away from the brutality and inhumanity, so there will also be tears. Ultimately, this reimagining is about the power of telling one's own story, so the ending brought me joy to see James writing his story and legacy into existence. 

This book is an absolute must read. I'm certain it'll be on all the top lists this year, and hopefully for years to come.

As Percival Everett said in an interview with Double Day books, James is not a retelling of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. He said it is something brand new:

“To say that it’s a retelling is not precise. To say that it’s a reimagining is not quite correct. It’s finally an opportunity for Jim to be present in the story.”*

While reading James, I kept the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn open next to me, annotating the times when the two stories clearly intersected. Percival Everett’s words rang in my ears constantly, and, as I compared the two books, examples of what he said leapt off the page. 

A Spoiler Free Example:

In Chapter XXII of Huck Finn, Jim inexplicably disappears from a major episode in the narrative. Mark Twain offers readers frustratingly little details. He sends the Duke, The King, and Huck off on an adventure in ”They Loafed Around Town” and says only this about Jim:

“..and all of us but Jim took the canoe…”

That’s it. A principal character, Jim, is left on the riverbank with no upfront explanation (and no backstory later). So often, there was no story of Jim to reimagine. There was no telling to retell. 

So, in James, Percival Everett either starts from scratch or morphs the paltry details from Huck Finn into whole chapters. A Huck Finn moment like “all of us but Jim,” for example, becomes the storyline that takes off in Part 1: Chapter 25 of James. 

James is not a book I will read just once. It not only stands alone as something great, it has completely altered how I see Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I have rereads and deep reads already planned. In the future, I want to excavate all the examples of irony; study the conversations James has in dreams with famous writers like Voltaire and Locke (that reminded me so much of Monk Ellison’s imagined conversations between artists in Erasure); explore the motif of fire; and lookup all the literary allusions. James needs to be reread and reread, studied and studied. I'm ready to to see the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn shelved because the new classic worth hundreds of years of study is here.

*This quote is from a @doubledaybooks reel shared on Instagram February 17, 2024.

I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence this review.

I love re-imaginings of classic stories, and have been excited to read James by Percival Everett, which will be released on March 19. This is a re-imagined Huckleberry Finn, told from the viewpoint of Jim.

Jim is an enslaved man with secrets. He is self-educated (highly educated) and devoted to his wife and daughter. He is also entangled with Huck (as in Twain’s novel.)

Jim learns that he is going to be sold, separated from his family, so he runs off to a nearby island to hide. There, he meets up with Huck, who has just faked his own death to escape from his cruel drunkard of a father. Now Jim knows he will likely be charged not only with running away, but also with killing Huck. The two flee the island.

Jim’s goal is to find a way to earn money to purchase his wife and daughter. Huck’s goal is adventure. While roughly following the timeline of Huckleberry Finn, this novel follows Jim rather than Huck. His adventures and close calls are even more compelling than Huck’s.

The novel shows the agency of enslaved people and the secretly subversive ways they undermine the institution of slavery. It also shows the fear and loss that are embedded in their daily existence. One of their tools is language. Whenever around Whites, they speak “slave,’ but among themselves, they speak in an educated, grammatical way that allows them to mock the ignorance of Whites. One of the most unsettling and even frightening things that Jim can do is to speak “correctly” to a White man. Language is power. Liberation will ultimately require choosing/claiming his own name, James.

This is a powerful novel that turns Mark Twain’s classic on its head. Highly recommended.

This will be one of my top reads of the year. A continuation of the story of Huckleberry Finn, told from the viewpoint of Jim. It was excellent and will be highly recommending to everyone.

In this reimagining of Twain's classic THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN, the story is told from enslaved Jim's point of view.

Jim overhears that he is to be sold; he panics and then flees. While hiding out hatching a plan to save his wife and daughter, he encounters his young friend Huck, who has faked is own death to escape his abusive father. The pair decide to swipe a raft and ride the mighty Mississippi north. Huck seeking salvation, and Jim, freedom, with hopes to return south, in time, to rescue his family. Overflowing with humor with equal parts horror, this book is not to be missed.

Read alike: LET US DESCEND by Jesmyn Ward

If you've never read a book by Percival Everett you truly are missing out. He is turning out book after book that just makes you expand your mind on race and history in America. His latest and greatest is called James (so am I so how could I not love this book!) From the very first page you know are into something special. It's a retelling of Huckleberry Finn and the Jim. You go on adventures with them that are somehwat similar to the story Huckleberry Finn but Jim is not the character you read about in the book. He's a slave who knows how to read and write and many other things that the white men who owns slaves never expect a slave to be able to do. The story just flies by because those fof us who know the story can maybe maybe figure out where the story is going but no so in Mr. Everett hands. I read the book in one sitting on a six hour flight. Books like this don't come out very often but when they do you just want to tell the world about them. You MUST read this book and add to your book club. There is so much to discuss and dive into. I hope it wins many awards because it deserves them. Thank you to Netgalley and Doubleday. I'll be buying this book and spreading this book to everyone I know!

A hilarious and harrowing novel told from the perspective of Jim from Huckleberry Finn. Thoroughly enjoyable, even though the number of escapes seemed rather far-fetched.

✨The portrayal of slavery here is brutal and violent, and while it was distressing to read, it is a vitally important read.
✨I’m not usually one for retellings, but this one will sit on my shelf with the classics.
✨The cast of characters – some I loved and some I loved to hate – were masterfully written, and I won’t soon forget them.
✨At once eloquent, devastating and triumphant, this is a book I definitely recommend you check out.

🌿Read if you like:
✨Historical fiction
✨Retellings
✨Own voices stories
✨Difficult but vastly important works of literature

To undertake the monumental task of reimagining arguably the greatest of the Great American Novels—the haunting work that has left an indelible mark on subsequent American writers—and to, in the process, craft the Great American Novel of the 21st century requires an author of extraordinary caliber.

Percival Everett reaches back in time to seize Twain's timeless adventure narrative, dragging it through the decades and thrusting it into the contemporary landscape. While preserving the essence of the original, he not only bestows Jim with narrative prominence but infuses his story with renewed vitality, offering insights not only into the past but also our present era.

Few writers possess the ability to weave a profoundly significant, emotionally resonant, and timely tale within the confines of such a compelling narrative. Everett, a master of this craft, consistently demonstrates his prowess.

Compelling, intense, whimsical, fiercely intelligent, humorous, profoundly moving, and imbued with hope—this is an exceptionally rare book, the kind that emerges infrequently. In fact, I'm uncertain if a work of such brilliance has graced readers in quite some time.

JAMES by Percival Everett to be published March 19, 2024

5 stars. This is a reimagining of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the point of view of Finn’s enslaved friend, Jim.

I am at a loss to describe how much I enjoyed this. Everett has created a masterpiece.

Smart
Superbly written
Original
Just wowza
I hope this is as widely read as Huck Finn itself.

I feel honored to have received an early gifted copy from @doubledaybooks. Thank you so much.

Link to come.

A retelling that invites you in to the wise and kind internal world of James, despite the horrific circumstances of his enslavement. Everett weaves a narrative around James, known as Jim in the original work of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn written by Mark Twain, that gives readers a window into the physical and mental torment of slavery. James humanity leaps from the page, requiring readers to challenge and untangle broad cultural narratives that often diminish the atrocity of slavery. Many will be faced with stereotypes and assumptions they never realized they held and inspired by new understanding and perspectives. Readers will close the book with a mind nad heart more open to the stories, voices, and experiences of others.

I thought this was genius.
In his own words Percival Everett has said it’s not a retelling but a character getting his due. And boy does he ever. Everett strips away the old patina and washes it with a modern day realness bringing us into James’ world and securing a modern day classic.
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There are so many clever devices and twists worked through here, especially with what he does with language. And I promise no spoilers, because part of the sheer delight of this book is seeing how he takes something familiar and recasts it effortlessly, or dare I say playfully, in a completely new mold while also incorporating history, philosophical scholars, and religion. It’s a brilliant marriage of the old and the new, and a book that is certainly going to be front and center for a myriad of awards. Thanks to @doubleday for the #gifted copy.
Don’t miss James when it comes out 3/19

I was absolutely blown away by this book! It was powerfully thought provoking. Everett brings depth to a character that deserves to have his story told. James is a contemporary masterpiece. Everett totally upends the classic Hukleberry Finn- everyone should read this book as a companion piece.

In case you haven’t yet heard the buzz, James is a retelling of Huck Finn told from the perspective of Jim, the runaway slave. I’m not sure I’ve ever read the original text and you definitely don’t need to before reading this, though the story felt familiar to me.

I flew through this book because of its short chapters and readable writing, and also because James is such a compelling character. It seems like Everett mostly sticks to the original plot, but with some twists that made it both thought-provoking and satisfying. The ending is what solidified this book as a 5 star read for me. Please note, the author does not shy away from depicting the horrors of slavery, so this book includes all the triggers you might expect and was not easy reading in that regard.

If you read one new release this spring, I’d recommend this one! Particularly to fans of Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead. I’m thrilled to say this lived up to the hype and am grateful to have discovered Percival Everett this year. I suspect James will stick with me for a long time.

Thank you NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the free copy in exchange for my honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this retelling of Mark Twains, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. It is told from the view of James or Jim, the runaway slave that Huck interacted with. I had a smile on my face as I read of Huck Finn and his adventures seen through the eyes of the adult, Jim. Jim was there to guide, protect, suggest, and aid Huck on his wild adventures in the 19th century, Mississippi land. It was very well done. It gave me a reminiscent feeling of what the time might have been like when boys run off and create their own adventure. Misunderstanding on Huck's part towards the reasons of slavery and the mistreatment of Jim and other blacks was refreshing to hear from a young boy's perspective.

Huck and Jim eventually split ways and then we follow Jim and his goals. The book is full of action yet perspective regarding slavery.

My suggestion to you is to either read Huckleberry Finn or a synopsis of the story before starting this one to enrich this reading experience.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday for the complimentary eARC,

This is the third of Everett's books (Erasure, The Trees) that I have read and it might be the best of the three. I don't often like retellings, but he uses The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in such a funny, enlightening way. It makes me want to reread Huckleberry because it has been a good while. The code switching was funny and the second half of the book takes on a more serious tone. The book uses the Huckleberry framework to examine horrifying slavery and the time just before the Civil war.

Thank you to Knopf Doubleday for my advance electronic copy via NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

MY REVIEW:
Any summary of the book on my part could not do it justice. Suffice it to say that it is a reimagining of the seminal novel, Huckleberry Finn, from the perspective of the formerly enslaved Jim, in all his agency, intelligence, and strength. The reader will recognize many of the same events, this new perspective will alter them so completely as to almost rewrite the memory of them with this new, more compassionate and ethical narrative.

Oh, where to even start! This was an utterly amazing work and I now know I need to devour more of this new-to-me author's work. Just like Twain's original, dialect and accent are perfectly captured on the page. More than a retelling, this mind-blowing perspective change regains control of the narrative from the perspective of the unseen. The River is always there, as is the all-pervasive disease of racism. But part parable, part metaphor, and part philosophy, the story conveys the power of telling one's own story and writing it down for all to see. Themes of mixed identity, the definition of race, the use of Christianity as a tool of oppression, White superiority, cultural appropriation, denial, and justice are all treated fairly but clearly. Just like Jim--or James--must have had to do, the narrative is raw and emotional but is skilled at keeping those emotions at bay in order to move forward and survive. I can't say enough good things about this book, and I hope it is appropriately recognized for the brilliant work that it is.

A marvelous twist on our received experience with Twain's Huckelberry Finn. Here Jim. the fleeing slave, is portrayed as self-educated and perfectly well spoken among his peers, i.e. other blacks, but lapsing into the stilted dialect of the enslaved when in the presence of whites. Both a delightful jeu d'esprit and a telling commentary on racism and social custom. First rate.