

James (Pulitzer Prize Winner)
Books | Fiction / Historical / General
4.6
(68)
Percival Everett
A brilliant, action-packed reimagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both harrowing and ferociously funny, told from the enslaved Jim's point of view. From the “literary icon” (Oprah Daily), Pulitzer Prize Finalist, and one of the most decorated writers of our lifetimeWhen the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father, recently returned to town. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and too-often-unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond.While many narrative set pieces of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn remain in place (floods and storms, stumbling across both unexpected death and unexpected treasure in the myriad stopping points along the river’s banks, encountering the scam artists posing as the Duke and Dauphin…), Jim’s agency, intelligence and compassion are shown in a radically new light.Brimming with the electrifying humor and lacerating observations that have made Everett a “literary icon” (Oprah Daily), and one of the most decorated writers of our lifetime, James is destined to be a major publishing event and a cornerstone of twenty-first century American literature.
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More Details:
Author
Percival Everett
Pages
320
Publisher
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published Date
2024-03-19
ISBN
0385550375 9780385550376
Community ReviewsSee all
"I remember next to nothing of Huck Finn (the novel), but I'm rather certain there were some liberties taken with the story/characters, and given the change in perspective, I think it helps highlight the difference in experience and contrasts what each found important to tell. This may not have been the authors intention, but my point is that I was very fine with the unfamiliarity that came with reading this despite its attachment to an American classic. Strong 8.5/10 🎤👀"
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Mare
"A beautifully written and captivating story. It took me on a journey and I didn’t want it to end. I will be thinking about this book for a long time! "
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Sandy Lopez
"A reimagining of the story of Huck Finn, told from James’ perspective, which makes all the difference. Fascinating re-telling of this classic story. "
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Jackie Davidson
"This was a great spinoff story from Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. It’s the story of the runaway slave, Jim and how he survives those years that he befriended young Tom and Huckleberry."
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Merry
"An imaginative and heart-felt take on Mark Twain’s Huck Finn, this time a story focusing on Jim, the runaway slave. Jim — or James, as he prefers — is a smart man who hides his deep intelligence behind the slave dialect white folks need to hear in order to understand slaves. He escapes Missouri and meets good and bad people, the bad people invariably white men who treat him like dirt and want to whip him, enslave him, sell him or lynch him. We get a new look at the relationship between Jim and Huck and on the “breeding farm” to which Jim’s wife and daughter were sold. Seeing big black men in chains, Jim asks, “Why do they have you chained up?” “They’re afraid of us,” the first man said, and then they all laughed. “We don’t know. I think they think it makes us feel more like animals. So we can mate like animals.” I felt for James and all the enslaved men and women in US history and the racism that allowed people both then and now to treat fellow humans so awfully. Town-wide book read in Greenwich, CT."
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Diane Morello
"The story definitely didn't go the way I was expecting, but it was absolutely phenomenal."
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bookfrog
"Missouri "
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Rachel Joy
"An innovative approach to the point-of-view change of the classics. I can't think of another author who has taken something like that on and gave an entire new storyline to a supporting character. Only one I can think of is 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead',
Play by Tom Stoppard. It almost leaves it as the background story for an entire series of James' adventures past where he is at the end of the book! Loved it!"
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Jess Cook
"This had me tearing up on a plane. Historical fiction isn’t my go-to favorite genre, but this book is an exception. I will be recommending this. I absolutely loved Jim and his friendship with Huck. Everett makes it easy to understand what it was like living during this time (Pre-Civil War) as an African American. Incredibly moving. This is incredible work."
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Jillian
"This book moved me by opening up my heart further to the inhumane treatment received by slaves as well as to their adaptations necessary for mere survival. The unjustified cruelties and challenges were more deeply felt because the author brought you to a place of deeply caring for the characters. A real page turner for me. Thank you Mr. Everett. Well done. "
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Eileen








