Reviews with content warning for Gaslighting - James

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Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

James by Percival Everett

21 reviews

jjjmjjj's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark funny inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

The message that Everett has James write

at the end of chapter 8 is beautiful, and is that sort of paragraph that would grab and stop you any where that it was published. To place it where Everett has placed it is incredible.

Content Warnings

kris_tea516's review against another edition

5.0

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)

Content Warnings

helloj9's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging informative reflective sad 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: Yes

Content Warnings

sakisreads's review against another edition

3.5

challenging dark tense slow-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: Complicated

Wow. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting but I definitely wasn’t expecting this 😳

As someone who hasn’t read ‘Huckleberry Finn’ (I’m sorry!), I wasn’t aware of how it would pan out. I thought the ways in which it worked through the story was slow, but methodical.

Thank you to Percival Emerett for presenting the story through the enslaved person’s view 👏🏼

3.5 stars out of 5 stars for me ✨ Content warnings below!

Content Warnings

nancybee60's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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

Beautifully written and smart. A fully fleshed out James is a necessary and eye-opening counter to Tom Sawyer’s and Huckleberry Finn’s boyish privileged narration of 1840’s South. The retelling from James’ fully-formed, fully-feeling intelligent, desperate, kind and angry character is wildly stunning. Everett’s James is brilliant, authoritative, and speaks genuinely to the life of a slave and white America’s still unremembered insidious role as “master”.

James should be read as a companion to Twain’s fiction—and is indeed the actual American masterpiece between the two.

A reflective, compelling must read.

Content Warnings

anitaconchita's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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

So, so good. Funny and horrifying and brilliant. Takes a familiar story and adds so much depth of character, trauma, and affection for the characters (even the deplorable ones like Duke and King). The changes are meaningful and done with great care. I felt the start was a bit heavy handed when it came to introducing the theme of code switching and the power of language, but once the story got moving, it was captivating and I was willing to follow James and Huck anywhere. A little uneven, but overall such a great book.

In the end, it leaves me thinking about liberation and escape. Who do you leave behind? Who/what do you take with you? What are the risks you take for yourself? For others? What alternatives exist? What alternatives are we hoping for?

Content Warnings