Read: October 2024
Published: March 2024
Summary
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. (via Goodreads)
My Take
I’m keeping the summary above and this review brief, because I don’t want to spoil anything for people who haven’t read this yet. It occurs to me that I’m much more careful about revealing too much about new books than I am about older books, which sort of makes sense, but also doesn’t. Anyway.
It’s rare that a book is a legitimate page-turner, while also being truly moving, thought-provoking, and perfectly written. I think Demon Copperhead falls into this category, and I’ll probably think of others, but James stands on its own.
Think about this: Huckleberry Finn was written 140 years ago, this year. How many writers and other creators have thought about how to tell this story from a different perspective? Here we are, 140 years later, presented with a compact, but somehow also majestic, retelling of the story, from the perspective of Jim, the slave who was a central character in that book.
But just one of the things that Percival Everett does in James is show the real human side of this character—not just a spiritual, nonviolent companion to Huck—but a complex, brutalized, secretly educated human being. The novel is told from Jim’s perspective, and without giving too much away, this book is horrifying, but also funny, and depressing, but also hopeful. Everett presents the full spectrum of human experience for a slave in the 1800s.
The fact that Jim is literate, and not just that, but a voracious reader who can write as well, is a big feature of this book. Giving Jim this power, which so many slaves were denied, gives the story more dynamism and hope.
“But my interest is in how these marks that I am scratching on this page can mean anything at all. If they can have meaning, then life can have meaning, then I can have meaning.”
The book is beautifully written, and includes some scenes and themes that will stick with you far beyond when you finish the novel. This book will win all the awards, and it should.
My Rating
10/10—instant classic.
Did you read the original Huck Finn prior to reading this? Wondering if would be helpful or if this can stand alone.