Reviews

James by Percival Everett

authenticakj's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

nady_breadin's review

adventurous challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

matconnor's review against another edition

5.0

A powerful read and hard to put down. This was my most anticipated novel of the year and it lived up to the hype.

When this novel was first announced, having read Everett's Erasure, I was expecting a biting satire full of dark humour. The satire is there but James is more realistic and horrifying than readers may expect. It reads like a historical thriller (or nightmare) at times, 12 Years a Slave with a tiny bit of dark humour. I would struggle to call this book funny like some reviewers have claimed. It’s clever and witty, but I don’t think Everett was going for laughs.

Mark Twain's Jim is loveable and there are hints at his interior life, but Jim is also sidelined throughout much of the book. There are long stretches where he's forced to stay behind on the raft or sits in a jail cell. Percival Everett restores James' (his preferred name) dignity and agency. James is not a rebuke of Twain's novel. It compliments and adds richness to Twain’s novel.

The best compliment I can give James is that I can't imagine reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn without following it up with James. It feels just as essential.

muse692's review against another edition

adventurous reflective sad 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? No

4.0

piggyreadsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

paytograce's review

adventurous challenging sad tense fast-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

5.0

bookmama_marcia's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

stavi95's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

cgter's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Slavery, Racism, and Racial slurs

Minor: Rape and Torture

leehaw's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.25

Everett’s writing style is easy to digest and offered a unique perspective to me, which I really appreciated. The story had every kind of human emotion packed into it. It was tragic at times and lighthearted at other times. I did find some of the story a bit slow and repetitive almost.

 
However, I’m glad James got a happy ending.