James by Percival Everett is a novel that reimagines the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain but told from the perspective of Huck's friend on his travels, Jim, who is an escaped slave. The novel won the 2024 Kirkus Prize, the National Book Award for Fiction, and the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Everett basically rewrites the story from the eyes of Jim. Much of this is familiar but the perspective is totally different. Jim is not the uneducated slave of Mark Twain but is self educated and able to read and write. He tells the story in standard English which he also uses to talk to other slaves but then switches to the uneducated patois of slaves whenever he talks in front of a white person. When Jim learns that he is planning on being sold by his owner, he decides to run; possibly to a Free State. He heads to Jackson Island where he meets up with Huck who is on the run from his pap after staging his own death. Jim and Huck get together and head down river with Jim having the intention of returning to try to free his wife and young daughter. They have some similar adventures as told by Twain but in James the story is much darker, emphasizing the abuses of slavery and its effect. For example, Jim wants to write his story and after meeting a group of friendly slaves, he asks if one of them can get him a pencil. One of the slaves agrees and steals a pencil stub for him, but this petty act of thievery results in the slave being lashed and then hanged. Other abuses are described in the narrative including the rape of women slaves by white owners and overseers and lashings for little or no reason. When Jim returns to rescue his wife and daughter, he finds that they have been sold to an awful "breeding farm" where abuse of the slaves is an everyday affair. So will Jim or James as he wants to be known, be able to save his family and if so, will anything change?
This was a very powerful novel which really delves deep into the evils of slavery. Everett really gives a harsh look at the complexities of race and racism which is still prevalent today. I haven't read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn since college in the late 60s but as I remember it, Twain provided a much lighter look at a very complex issue. I need to do a reread sometime soon. But overall, a very high recommendation for James.
Everett basically rewrites the story from the eyes of Jim. Much of this is familiar but the perspective is totally different. Jim is not the uneducated slave of Mark Twain but is self educated and able to read and write. He tells the story in standard English which he also uses to talk to other slaves but then switches to the uneducated patois of slaves whenever he talks in front of a white person. When Jim learns that he is planning on being sold by his owner, he decides to run; possibly to a Free State. He heads to Jackson Island where he meets up with Huck who is on the run from his pap after staging his own death. Jim and Huck get together and head down river with Jim having the intention of returning to try to free his wife and young daughter. They have some similar adventures as told by Twain but in James the story is much darker, emphasizing the abuses of slavery and its effect. For example, Jim wants to write his story and after meeting a group of friendly slaves, he asks if one of them can get him a pencil. One of the slaves agrees and steals a pencil stub for him, but this petty act of thievery results in the slave being lashed and then hanged. Other abuses are described in the narrative including the rape of women slaves by white owners and overseers and lashings for little or no reason. When Jim returns to rescue his wife and daughter, he finds that they have been sold to an awful "breeding farm" where abuse of the slaves is an everyday affair. So will Jim or James as he wants to be known, be able to save his family and if so, will anything change?
This was a very powerful novel which really delves deep into the evils of slavery. Everett really gives a harsh look at the complexities of race and racism which is still prevalent today. I haven't read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn since college in the late 60s but as I remember it, Twain provided a much lighter look at a very complex issue. I need to do a reread sometime soon. But overall, a very high recommendation for James.
