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tnyla's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Racial slurs, Slavery, and Rape
permanme's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Slavery
Moderate: Violence and Rape
Minor: War
evetoi's review against another edition
adventurous
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Slavery
bookb1itch's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
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? Yes
5.0
Timing! This arrived on my final day of isolation with covid, so I got straight into it - when I could wrestle it away from my son! Such intelligent commentary about race. I'm now looking for Everett's back-catalogue, starting with Erasure, because I adored the film version "American Fiction". It is so believably written, BUT I don't want to believe that African-Americans ever lived with this level of bigotry and mistrust.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Death of parent, Bullying, and Slavery
Moderate: Rape, Racism, and Hate crime
Minor: War
readswithcocktails's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Sexual assault, Racism, Racial slurs, Rape, and Sexual violence
awebofstories's review
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery
Moderate: Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Death
alexhaydon's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
5.0
Every time I read an Everett I end up saying it’s my new favourite
😅 I haven’t read Huckleberry Finn but I’m desperate to now.
Without blabbering on, this novel was pacy, cinematic, tense and at times darkly humerous. A story detailing the lengths taken in order to protect ourselves and our family, the ones we love and the cost it all comes at. It was at moments absolutely harrowing, and in few others ridiculous. Vastly set upon the Mississippi River, the current was reflected in the novels pace and events. It displayed how the earth and land can be both a tool for survival and of destruction. At the end of it all, it was a tale of the enduring faith and fight of the human spirit.
😅 I haven’t read Huckleberry Finn but I’m desperate to now.
Without blabbering on, this novel was pacy, cinematic, tense and at times darkly humerous. A story detailing the lengths taken in order to protect ourselves and our family, the ones we love and the cost it all comes at. It was at moments absolutely harrowing, and in few others ridiculous. Vastly set upon the Mississippi River, the current was reflected in the novels pace and events. It displayed how the earth and land can be both a tool for survival and of destruction. At the end of it all, it was a tale of the enduring faith and fight of the human spirit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Gore, Death, Physical abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Violence, Gun violence, Murder, Rape, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual violence
katerybs's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Slavery, and Rape
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
James is a fabulous read in which Percival Everett takes the character of Jim, an enslaved man from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and centres him, giving him his own voice in his own story. He tells a very different story while still sticking closely to the tone and plot of the original, particularly in the first half of the novel. The humour is still there but looks very different when seen through a different pair of eyes - an intelligent and kind man strategically humouring a pair of kids who are nowhere near as quiet and clever as they think they are, rather than a "dumb slave" falling prey to a kids' prank. The atmosphere of the journey down river feels totally different when seen through the eyes of a man whose life would be in grave danger if he was discovered, versus a child, even one with an abusive father, who is having a fun adventure. When Huck and Jim are separated, the storylines Everett creates for Jim seem entirely plausible and often show aspects of the Black experience not shown in Twain's original. Where Everett did veer from the Twain's text, it felt done deliberately and with purpose, often to make a point about the Black experience then, and now. The violence at the end of the novel is just one example of this. Yes, it did feel slightly out for line with Jim's (now James's, an important distinction) character and behaviour to date, but I think that was point. When people are pushed beyond the limits, when the system looks set to cost them everything and everyone they love, when they've been pushed to the limit and see no way other way, then violence isn't a surprise. In many ways, it's simply self-defence. Everett highlighted the power of reading and writing, and the fear literate, educated Blacks held for white society. This also led to some of the book's more humorous scenes, when Jim is teaching the children to alter their speech patterns around white people and when he gets into debates with philospohers such as Locke and Voltaire, with the satirical humour lying in the limitations of white people, their inability to see the truth beyond their limited and racist preconceptions of Blacks.
There is one surprise reveal towards the end of the book that I wasn't fully convinced by, despite being able to see some reasons for it. But it's a relatively small quibble about a novel that is not just a thoroughly enjoyable reading experience in its own right, but one that I think will forever change how we think about one of America's classic novels. It's incisive in its critique, providing a perspective which was all too often lacking or misrepresented in much nineteenth century literature, while still treating the original with respect. And it doesn't take a lot of imagination to extend its lessons and insights to contemporary society.
There is one surprise reveal towards the end of the book that I wasn't fully convinced by, despite being able to see some reasons for it. But it's a relatively small quibble about a novel that is not just a thoroughly enjoyable reading experience in its own right, but one that I think will forever change how we think about one of America's classic novels. It's incisive in its critique, providing a perspective which was all too often lacking or misrepresented in much nineteenth century literature, while still treating the original with respect. And it doesn't take a lot of imagination to extend its lessons and insights to contemporary society.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Rape, Racism, and Violence
olivias_bookrecs's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
A brilliant retelling of Huck Finn from Jim’s perspective. Adventurous, horrific, important, and accessible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Slavery
Minor: Rape