Reviews

James by Percival Everett

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sohare01's review against another edition

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inspiring reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

booksillremember's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful reflective tense medium-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? No

3.5

A suspenseful, sad and at the same time surprisingly hilarious satire told from the perspective of Jim (his real name: James) from the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I have highlighted so many great passages, especially dialogue between James and Huck.

However, there are quite a few choices that I'm not so sure about. Mostly, the way James was turned into an intellectual. I did enjoy the code-switching and the message behind it. It makes for great satire. I also think it's a good choice that James taught himself how to read and write and is teaching his community as well. All this gives back agency to James and the other enslaved characters.

But I feel it comes at a cost. I feel that the type of intellectual he is ends up centering European white voices and definitions of intellect and education, which contradicts the point of the novel. Why does he have to read and discuss Voltaire, Rousseau and Locke and the likes, in order to be seen as an intellectual? Why does he have to speak 'proper' English as a way of showing that he isn't stupid? It feels inauthentic and like pandering to white tastes. And maybe that's the point, that at this stage, he cannot NOT centre white narratives, whether he likes it or not. But that's not examined. And somehow he becomes 'not like the other Black people' - doesn't that put down people who DO speak 'the slave language'? Linguistic prescriptivism is itself a tool of oppression and we shouldn't perpetuate the notion that some ways of speaking are more proper than others. Pidgin and creole languages (and AAVE) have a rich and sad history and should be respected for what they are.

The 'exceptional other' is a trope that in many cases sends the message that the minoritised person has to be exceptional to be acceptable. James does not need to read white European men and talk like them in order to be an intelligent, empathetic and complex human being.

I'm also not so sure about the final reveal - I understand the comment it makes on how race is a construct, but I feel that was already done better with Norman and the Minstrels. In my opinion, the big reveal takes away from the genuine friendship between James and Huck.

Also a minor pet peeve: I really don't like it when characters constantly happen upon each other by chance, just at the exact right moment, because it drives the plot forward. This happened several times. They are escaping through a vast territory, it's just not believable.

Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed the book and it - clearly - made me think a lot.

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