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adventurous
challenging
emotional
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Slavery
James was a difficult read, especially for empaths, but absolutely worth every page. I’m not sure what I was expecting going in, but it certainly wasn’t this. And yet, what I got was something far more powerful.
It’s been years since I read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but fragments started coming back as I made my way through this incredible retelling. This book is not easy, it’s heavy, layered, and unflinching in its exploration of identity, trauma, and truth.
I saw some blurbs mention humor, but for me, this was a deeply reflective and emotionally unsettling experience. It’s the kind of story that sits with you long after you’ve turned the last page.
I completely understand why James has earned so many accolades, and I would eagerly recommend it to everyone I know. It’s a brilliant, unforgettable read.
It’s been years since I read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but fragments started coming back as I made my way through this incredible retelling. This book is not easy, it’s heavy, layered, and unflinching in its exploration of identity, trauma, and truth.
I saw some blurbs mention humor, but for me, this was a deeply reflective and emotionally unsettling experience. It’s the kind of story that sits with you long after you’ve turned the last page.
I completely understand why James has earned so many accolades, and I would eagerly recommend it to everyone I know. It’s a brilliant, unforgettable read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Grief
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Blood, Murder
Minor: Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Rape
adventurous
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Slavery
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I just want to start by saying I liked this book, but I am confused about the part where the book is “riotously funny,” as the blurb purports. If you are a literary aesthete, and you have read Candide, sure, I get it. There are moments of levity and linguistic exchanges that are comical. But this book transitions from essentially a shot for shot point of view parallel from Huckleberry Finn to a dark, violent track with no brakes very suddenly.
There were parts of this book I liked a lot. The Jim of Huckleberry Finn is granted humanity, eventually, through the eyes of Huck, and we are given glimpses into his role as a father, his warmth as a caregiver, his innovation under pressure, and despite his exploitation by Tom Sawyer, his freedom. He is otherwise illiterate, assigned a tertiary role, relegated to superstitious musings, and well-founded fears for his life. In James, our Jim says the quiet part out loud, for the whole book, which I think is a real strength, because no white person that picks this book up can misinterpret it. I think the ubiquitous bilingual code switching is brilliant, and the depth of understanding of the true insidiousness of the hierarchical mind of white supremacy, and the denial of Black agency and humanity is conveyed with bone-chilling precision. No notes. James’ erudite meditations and negotiations with Locke and Voltaire were also thrilling to me, but I can see those moments not hitting as well if they weren’t on the syllabus. I also liked his ramp-up into more aggressive, almost vigilante behaviors into pursuit of freedom, even if they were departures from the carefully crafted, thoughtful character he had exhibited prior; I think once one begins to self-actualize, you can’t put Pandora back in the box, and even if it was literary flourish, I liked seeing the fullness and bravado of that power, so long denied, burst forth, in violence, in death, in verse.
However, while James being a father and husband was his ultimate drive, the reveal thathe was Huck’s father was kind of an addendum rather than ancillary plot point after sprinkling all those little breadcrumbs for it in the first half of the novel; and we don’t actually get a lot of introspection from James about how these roles define him apart from the identity marker he most wants to obliterate, being a Black man who is enslaved. The only identity insight we get is that he wants to become James, whoever that will be, outside the dominating hand of slavery. His relationship to literature is much more profound than with any other human, and we know him more through those meditations than through anything else literally about him.
TW: sexual assault; I’m gonna rage about the use of women / rape in this paragraph & I’m not using spoiler tags for those plot points in case folks want to know which characters they pertain to, so please skip if triggering.
My big critique, though, is that while this book does a great thing in giving voice and radicalization to the narrative of James, it used women exclusively as props. In fact, essentially all of the women of color were basically vehicles for rape. For one thing,what’s the deal with Huck’s mom? You grew up together and were friends, so when did you get her pregnant, and what’s that whole story? What’s <i>her</i> story? Secondly, the introduction of Sammy, whose few lines belie that she has experienced rape since she was a child throughout her mere fifteen years of life, to ultimately be shot to death within two chapters of appearing in the narrative, make her a sacrificial lamb, and I think killing women for the plot is a sin. I also think rape for the plot is a sin, which we get to witness with Katie, from behind a barrel with James, who says nothing, does nothing, and we all get to sit with it together until Katie gets tossed out with the bath water two chapters later, too, as a vehicle for James’ growing anger. I get what the commentary is attempting to do, but it’s so minimally put forth in accompaniment with the act that it’s weak, at best, and frankly, it’s lazy. I think this book is doing great critical work in highlighting racial violence, exploitation, and hierarchy, and I think it should stick to what it knows, because the sexual violence against women of color piece, while it definitely exists and existed, is handled poorly, perfunctorily. Finally, in the last driving pursuit to reclaim his family, James learns they’re not at just any plantation, they’re at a breeding plantation. A rape factory — this is his ultimate fear realized, the thing he has witnessed and projected upon his daughter every time it has come up for the whole book; which, by the way, is a shit trope, caring about people who experience rape largely because of their proximity to you/men, i.e., they’re someone’s wife, someone’s daughter, rather than just being a person with agency. It is not lost on me that that is the entire point of the book, the denial of personhood and agency through slavery, though I think it may be lost on the author that rape is that denial, doubled, and shouldn’t be a prop plot device.
In conclusion, overall, I did enjoy this book a lot, and think there is much to be gained by reading it, again, markedly, because there’s no way to misinterpret James: he says the quiet part out loud, without mincing words, unflinchingly, every time. And a lot of people need to hear that part, over and over again, until it sticks.
There were parts of this book I liked a lot. The Jim of Huckleberry Finn is granted humanity, eventually, through the eyes of Huck, and we are given glimpses into his role as a father, his warmth as a caregiver, his innovation under pressure, and despite his exploitation by Tom Sawyer, his freedom. He is otherwise illiterate, assigned a tertiary role, relegated to superstitious musings, and well-founded fears for his life. In James, our Jim says the quiet part out loud, for the whole book, which I think is a real strength, because no white person that picks this book up can misinterpret it. I think the ubiquitous bilingual code switching is brilliant, and the depth of understanding of the true insidiousness of the hierarchical mind of white supremacy, and the denial of Black agency and humanity is conveyed with bone-chilling precision. No notes. James’ erudite meditations and negotiations with Locke and Voltaire were also thrilling to me, but I can see those moments not hitting as well if they weren’t on the syllabus. I also liked his ramp-up into more aggressive, almost vigilante behaviors into pursuit of freedom, even if they were departures from the carefully crafted, thoughtful character he had exhibited prior; I think once one begins to self-actualize, you can’t put Pandora back in the box, and even if it was literary flourish, I liked seeing the fullness and bravado of that power, so long denied, burst forth, in violence, in death, in verse.
However, while James being a father and husband was his ultimate drive, the reveal that
TW: sexual assault; I’m gonna rage about the use of women / rape in this paragraph & I’m not using spoiler tags for those plot points in case folks want to know which characters they pertain to, so please skip if triggering.
My big critique, though, is that while this book does a great thing in giving voice and radicalization to the narrative of James, it used women exclusively as props. In fact, essentially all of the women of color were basically vehicles for rape. For one thing,
In conclusion, overall, I did enjoy this book a lot, and think there is much to be gained by reading it, again, markedly, because there’s no way to misinterpret James: he says the quiet part out loud, without mincing words, unflinchingly, every time. And a lot of people need to hear that part, over and over again, until it sticks.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Slavery
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Murder
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A real masterpiece! I felt it was paced well and very gripping. Having read Huck Finn for the first time immediately before really helped me to compare and contrast and the differences stood out a lot. Despite the subject matter being pretty dark the humour still stood out. The only reason it's not a five star book for me is because I wasn't convinced by the "twist", it felt like an afterthought and the author didn't really commit to it in his characterisations. Can't wait to see a future film adaptation of this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, Classism
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Violence
Moderate: Death, Physical abuse
Minor: Child abuse