Reviews tagging 'Cultural appropriation'

James by Percival Everett

45 reviews

adventurous challenging emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes

i had heard all the ravings about how amazing this book was. and avoided it.... until i saw it sitting on the shelf at the library and said fine! i'll do it. and i'm so glad i did.  the only problem i can see is that the people who really NEED to read it never will.  

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark emotional tense 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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Overall, as a reimagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, it was pretty well done. The quality of the writing was top-notch. I was fully immersed in the world throughout. 

Ive deducted half a star from it just because 1) I didn’t feel that Jim evolved much throughout the story. I suppose that could be argued based on who he was when it started, but overall he just seemed to be the same guy from start to finish without much of his beliefs or feelings changing despite everything he goes through. And 2) the twist where
Huck is actually his kid
felt unnecessary. It didn’t do anything to the story by admitting that revelation. 

Definitely recommend others to read Huck Finn first before reading James! I think knowing the original story helps you appreciate this one more. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Now I know why this was atop everyone's reading list last year. What an incredible work of art! As a character, James brought dignity to the enslaved people in the cast, and made sure that he left his mark on the world. I devoured this book in two days. Definitely going on my "best of" list! 5 billion stars

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark informative reflective sad tense 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

This book is brilliant, gorgeous, stirring, and wildly clever. There are so many important themes and passages that stopped me in my tracks. But for now my heart simply aches. What a devastating - and essential - read. I will be thinking about this one for a long time.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark inspiring 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

I didn’t read “The Adventures of Huck Finn” in high school. I’m not sure if we just read a selection or if we were supposed to read it but I just refused to, either way, I didn’t read it. As a kid, I did watch the movie but I remember very little about the story. I’ve heard so many people rave about this book so I decided to read it and “The Adventures of Huck Finn” this year.

 I will say that this is a FANTASTIC book, not an easy or enjoyable read necessarily, but very good. The audiobook narration by Dominic Hoffman was amazing. I don’t think it would have impacted me nearly as much if I hadn't listened to his talented interpretation.

This book is about the evils of slavery, the resilience of people who were demoralized and dehumanized, and friendship in unexpected places. This book certainly doesn’t shy away from the horrors of that time in history. To think of the ways humans can treat and hate other humans is shocking, disgusting, and terrifying. This book is important for people of all colors to read.

One aspect that had me thinking about current events is that James broke immoral laws. He broke those laws and risked his life to save his family and helped others to freedom in the process. This made me think of our current immigration situation and how most people who flee to this country are doing everything they can and risking everything for their families and freedom. Many times we assume we know their intentions and motivations without asking questions. If we just showed mercy, offered grace, and listened to their stories, our thoughts on their struggles might change. 

There were so many other beautiful messages & sometimes hard lessons to learn in this book. I highly recommend reading this book and contemplating these messages.

Content warnings: slavery, torture/beating, violence, gun violence, fire, murder, hanging/lynching, racism, relatively graphic rape scene, strangulation, drowning, child abuse, death, racial slurs (particularly numerous uses of the "N" word)

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark emotional hopeful informative tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Expand filter menu Content Warnings