As someone who never read the original Huck Finn, I was worried that this book (as an update on the classic work) might not provide enough context within the work for readers unfamiliar with the original work to "get it." But with enthusiasm, I'm happy to say that I loved the story, writing style, and pacing of James, and didn't feel like I missed out or need to read Huck Finn to understand the story. James was a much needed update on the classic work and I hope that other readers recognize its importance. The storyline is very engaging and the book was hard to put down.

I’m with Ernest Hemingway when it comes to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I’m a huge fan, and I’m always interested in (and usually disappointed by) new books that reimagine it. And so I read James by Percival Everett.

It’s very readable. I understand wanting to make Jim a main character in this story. I fully support showing that he is a person with hopes and dreams and his own life aside from his adventures with Huck Finn. There were parts that I found enjoyable, although “ferociously funny” is a stretch. James does not capture the wit and genius of the original, and it reads like historical fiction, not contemporary fiction (like Huckleberry Finn is). The author really really wants us to understand that Jim understands irony, and sarcasm, and can read and understand great works, and can write. I found the need to make us understand that belabored and repetitive.

“We waded through water inside the wrecked house, with clothes floating everywhere. It had settled at a severe angle so it was a bit of a climb to the kitchen cabinets. Huck opened one and squealed, ironically, like a pig, as he found a rasher of bacon.” (p. 36 of the advance reader copy). That manages to both dehumanize Huck (which I assume is the point) and remind us, again, that Jim gets irony!

My major complaint is a major spoiler, and I won't post it here. You can see it behind a spoiler tag in my Goodreads review. The ending is where this book really reveals itself to be historical fiction; I won't explain that either because I don't want to spoil it.

I do not believe that children should be forced to read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The earliest it should be on required reading lists is in college literature classes (and even then it would be best as an option). The use of the n word is problematic, but I will point out that it appears many times in James (in case anyone is thinking James will make a better read for high schoolers).

Your reaction to James may vary greatly from mine. James might actually be better if you haven’t read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I read an advance reader copy from Netgalley.

One of the most significant works of American fiction from the past few years, up there alongside Maya Binyam's Hangman and Otessa Moshfegh's Lapvona in shaping a new American literary voice that is biting, sharp, self-conscious and mesmerizing. James takes the unstable foundation of America and its literarture and appropriates them for their enemy, as James would call himself. As funny as it is deadly serious.

Everett’s take is a riff on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from Jim’s point of view as he escapes from his enslavement. Funny, layered, and complicated, Jim proves to be far more interesting than Huck and Finn ever were. Readers will recognize familiar characters from Twain’s original story and be rooting for Jim the entire way.

I’ll admit I don’t really remember Huck Finn and had to look up the original story online. However I loved this retelling. James is a runaway slave in the south who sets out with Huck, a young white boy who escapes his abusive father. The pair meet endless situations where you’re sure they’re going to be found out, captured or put to death. Along the way we find out there’s more to James than he’s let on. This is a very touching and sometimes grim look at pre abolition America. I appreciated this fresh take on a tale that’s been told. I felt for James deeply and loved the way the author shared his thoughts and gave voice to the absurdity and horror of slavery.
Definitely one I expect to see a lot of this year and talked about by book clubs…Oprah?? Is it you?
4+ stars

An inventive retelling. I have to admit that I never read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but could imagine what was missing - or more accurately, what Everett foregrounds here, using the language of race/humor/subversion.

I was so excited to read this! I LOVED it! I’m in awe! I’ve already preorder a copy because I want to always have this book around.

Percival Everett has written so many provocative and thought provoking books, and is having his moment perhaps, years overdue, with the film based on another of his books. This one turns Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn upside down as we explore the character’s from Jim’s point of view. Painfully honest, hilarious, it’s a must read. Thanks to Netgalley for the digital ARC.

A must read. James is the story of the character "Jim" in Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The author brilliantly enlarged the screen - showing us what James thought and dreamed and felt in a way that kept me captivated. The characters in the book are the same as in Twain's - you'll recognize them all. What is different is the momentum and the urgency with each passage. Twain's irony and humor is deepened and made more rich and full. This is a brilliant book that will have book discussion groups staying late and texting later to share even more. Pre-ordering now to get a finished physical copy - you should too. Thanks to Knopf Doubleday for the advanced copy. What a gift.

Wow! Everett has managed to reconstruct a classic Mark Twain story with an interesting perspective into the James character and into the institution of slavery. I loved how James wrote, "With my pencil, I wrote myself into being." This is exactly what Everett has done, wrote James into a human being rather than a character in a story. His thoughts and feelings about slavery, family, and survival come alive in a way that Twain's classic largely ignores. I liked that Everett explored many different facets of slavery and racial inequality through James and the ignorance of those who called themselves his superiors. Readers will want to read the original work by Twain and then jump into this retelling right afterwards.

My only complaint was with the formatting between reading on the computer and reading on the phone. When we are able to read what James has wrote the phone display garbles up the text and makes it difficult to read. This is something that will hopefully be fixed in the digital formatting when the book goes live.

Such a witty yet gut-wrenching take on the classic story. From Jim's POV and incorporating humor that doesn't make light of suffering, the story is even more action packed and doesn't shy away from the brutal truths in history.

James is even better than The Trees. It's full of both pathos and dark humor...and history! I had no idea the composer of Dixie was from my home state Ohio. And now I want to reread Huck Finn. This is a brilliant book and I couldn't put it down. It would also make an excellent book discussion title.

Percival Everett’s James is the second time I read Mark Twain fan fiction by an accomplished author. The only reason I wanted to read the novel was because Everett is one of my favorite authors. James is his best novel since Telephone, though it doesn’t start out that way. The book does not gain my full interest until the second half when Everett takes more liberties with Jim’s character. The first half is dry literary fiction that makes college professors salivate, but it’s necessary. As such, reading the novel felt like homework until Everett’s sensibilities creeped in.

The running theme throughout the story is paranoia. In this sense, James reminded me of Kindred, which effectively removes the pretense of a happy slave narrative. Jim experiences continuous trauma as he enters dangerous situations he could otherwise avoid. His survival instincts are certainly not flawless. Though Everett portrays him as a well spoken man who merely acts the part of an impish slave, Jim is still confined to what little intelligence he can glean in his position. For instance, he knows how to read and write, and even uses words like “loquacious,” yet cannot read a map or use a pistol until someone shows him.

While I will not revisit this novel for pleasure in the future, I enjoyed the experience and take a lot of pride in Everett’s continuous accomplishments in literature.

TL;DR: Put JAMES on your list and read it when it comes out in March 2024. I rarely make such universal recommendations, but JAMES has broad appeal, it’s smart, and it’s crafted with a profound core that makes it an essential read. Plus, it’s just so dang fun!
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JAMES by Percival Everett is not merely a retelling of THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN, but a novel that flips the original ADVENTURES around for a few somersaults. While readers of HUCK FINN will recognize some of the same plot elements, the heart of JAMES bursts with cutting insights and a clarity of vision that go well beyond what Mark Twain attempted.

In JAMES, the protagonist is Huck Finn’s fellow runaway, the enslaved man Jim. I don’t want to give away any of the brilliant narrative, so suffice it to say, the character of Jim – or James – is unforgettable. With clever originality, Everett peels back the layers of what it means to live in a society that doesn’t view Black men and women as fellow humans – and imagines how Black people resist that dehumanization in both small and big ways. With impeccable cadence, the result is a novel that’s whip smart, funny, earnest, and bold.

Everett’s THE TREES was one of my favorite books of last year, and JAMES is one of my top reads of 2023. Everett is a literary giant, capable of pulling off that elusive combination of propulsive and entertaining plot, complex character development, and sharp consideration of important themes. JAMES was a pure delight, and I hope everyone reads it when it’s available.

This book is excellent. Without spoiling the novel, I will say that Everett makes clear how Twain erases Black people's investments in their own lives. Everett corrects that, and he doesn't do it in a heavy handed manner. He thinks about what would have to be true for Twain's story to make sense. He thinks about James deeply and poignantly, and he captures chance and loss and difficult choices with deep insight. I felt honored to read this book. I felt proud of Everett and the arc of his career. This book is a masterpiece!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As soon as I read the description of the story - Huckleberry Finn from Jim's POV - I was immediately intrigued. I have read a short story I enjoyed by Everett before this, but that's my only other exposure to his work, though I know he's an acclaimed author. I'm very glad I requested this book because it was an excellent read. Everett makes the reader feel not just the pain and horror of slavery, but the claustrophobic nature of it. No matter where Jim goes, it doesn't matter, as he can never truly be free of prejudice, even in "free" states or when travelling with alleged abolitionists. There is no real escape from his situation. That said, there are enough moments of both humor and hope throughout that the novel doesn't overpower the reader with despair. I will say the start was a bit slow, but the final 1/3 of the book is really when the story and premise take off, so if the book doesn't immediately grab you, just be patient and know that it is building to a strong resolution.

The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because I did feel like it took me a little bit to really get into the story. I have read Huck Finn, but it was over 15 years ago now. The blurb claimed that you don't need to have read Huck Finn to enjoy this. While that's true, I also think you'd probably enjoy it a lot more if you have read Huck Finn recently. Some things came back to me as I read, but I'm sure I missed some great tie-ins or subtle references and commentary, as a result of being so far removed from my last reading of Huck. This seems like it would be a great book to read in an English Lit class, paired with Huck Finn. I wish I'd had that experience, and hopefully now, some students might!

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday for allowing me to review this book. This is an updated take on the character of Jim in Huckleberry Finn. Everett does an exceptional job of centering the story on the character of James and creating a backstory for him that only adds to the original. I absolutely loved this book. I would not say it is necessary to have read Huck Finn recently (or maybe at all) but it did send me back to the original to refresh my memory on some points. I do not hesitate to recommend this book to all readers. It is brilliant throughout, funny at times, and ultimately poignant in its take on literary heritage. This was my first Percival Everett book to read (which is embarrassing to admit). As soon as I finished it, I sought out three of his previous novels and spent a week reading through all three of those. In the span of a couple of weeks, he has become one of my absolute favorite authors and I look forward to familiarizing myself with more of his back catalog and any other books that he will publish in the future. He really is one of the best writers working today--and, while late, I am truly glad (and thankful again to NetGalley and the publisher) for discovering him. So, I highly, highly recommend this novel and really anything by Percival Everett in general. So far, everything of his I have read is sheer brilliance.

Whoa, that was so not was I was expecting. Despite the Goodreads blurb that calls this book “ferociously funny” and “brimming with electrifying humor,” I didn't really find much to laugh about while reading it. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I was just surprised by how serious and thought-provoking this novel ended up being. I mean, sure, there are a few funny bits here and there, but I definitely wouldn't consider this to be a humorous book overall.

But, with that said, James is a brilliant piece of fiction and I have once again been wowed by Percival Everett's talent. (As an aside, if you want to read a truly funny book by Everett, grab yourself a copy of The Trees . It's amazing.) Everett manages to stay true to the tone and style of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn while at the same time creating something completely different with runaway slave Jim as the narrator.

This is not an easy book to read … well, subject-wise, anyway. Lots of terrible things happen to good people, mostly just because of the color of their skin. There are awful characters who degrade and take advantage of Jim just because they can. There is murder and rape and violence and death. I've read books about slavery before, but somehow this one brought home the inhumanity of it like no other. I foresee lots of challenges to this book by the “slavery wasn't really all that bad,” red hat-wearing, book-burning crowd.

I flew through this book and found it basically unputdownable. I read the first 80% in one sitting, forced myself to go to bed around 3 a.m., and then finished the last bit first thing the next morning. It's exciting and suspenseful and heart-wrenching all at the same time, and the ending was fantastic.

If you enjoyed the original Huck Finn, you'll probably love this version at least as much, if not more. Percival Everett is an incredibly talented author and a national treasure, and this latest book of his deserves all of the praise and recognition that will undoubtedly come its way.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review.

I love any kind of prequel, sequel, retelling, modern reboot, or homage to "classic" literature. Huck Finn reimagined by the unequaled Percival Everertt? SIGN ME UP PLEASE. This did not disappoint. Will be recommending this to library patrons, oh yes, indeed.

This is one of those times when I'm overcome with gratefulness that I know how to read.

It is so, so rare for a book to reach this level of intellectual perfection, emotional perfection, moral perfection, all at once.

This is a deeply imagined story. Now and then I noticed that I was on the verge of crying as I read. Not in a cathartic way, and not because the story is tragic (although it is) but because of how the novel so relentlessly undid me. Here are some of the ways that it upended me. There is the delighted shock that comes along whenever Everett takes this well-known story in an unexpected direction. There is the absolute unexpectedness of some outcomes, some conversations, some turns of phrase--followed by the sense that what I just read was, perfect. There is the way Everett's novel keeps forcing me to reconsider familiar characters, who here are given a depth far beyond what they have in the original story. There is the way scenes aren't exactly reproduced from Twain's novel--instead, the same events have been folded into brand new shapes, where I'm forced to see the brutality, the reality of enslaved lives.

As I read, I felt as if every novel Percival Everett has ever written has led him to this novel. I'm so grateful to have experienced the thought and the care and the love of language and the glorious bang-up storytelling reflected on every page.