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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
sad
medium-paced
Reread before I pick up James by Percival Everett! Fun reading this for the first time since my early teens
Themes or characters that resonated with me: I found Huck's experience relatable. The idea of arriving at a different set of beliefs despite the way you've been raised was resonant. This book has some humanist themes as it attempts to give dignity to the character of Jim. Jim also displays empathy throughout despite mistreatment.
Emotions, thoughts, or memories it brought up in me: The whole sequence with Tom is frustrating for the reader as it seems to undo sense that Huck has developed morally and ethically. However, I think this was intended to contrast Tom with Huck to show how far he has come.
Opinion about the author or writing style: The writing style felt authentic. Even the weird dialects were easier to read than Joseph in Wuthering Heights, so that's nice.
Favorite Passage:
"If you tell the truth you do not need a good memory!"
_______
"I felt good and all washed clean of sin for the first time I had ever felt so in my life, and I knowed I could pray now. But I didn't do it straight off, but laid the paper down and set there thinking—thinking how good it was all this happened so, and how near I come to being lost and going to hell. And went on thinking. And got to thinking over our trip down the river; and I see Jim before me, all the time, in the day, and in the nighttime, sometimes moonlight, sometimes storms, and we a-floating along, talking and singing and laughing. But somehow I couldn't seem to strike no places to harden me against him, but only the other kind. I'd see him standing my watch on top of his'n, 'stead of calling me, so I could go on sleeping; and see him how glad he was when I come back out of the fog; and when I come to him again in the swamp, up there where the feud was; and such-like times; and would always call me honey, and pet me and do everything he could think of for me, and how good he always was; and at last I struck the time I saved him by telling the men we had smallpox aboard, and he was so grateful, and said I was the best friend old Jim ever had in the world, and the only one he's got now; and then I happened to look around, and see that paper.
It was a close place. I took it up, and held it in my hand. I was a-trembling, because I'd got to decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself:
'All right, then, I'll go to hell'—and tore it up."
My ratings-
Writing Style: 90
Relatability: 90
Originality: 90
Personal impact: 90
Plot: 80
Emotions, thoughts, or memories it brought up in me: The whole sequence with Tom is frustrating for the reader as it seems to undo sense that Huck has developed morally and ethically. However, I think this was intended to contrast Tom with Huck to show how far he has come.
Opinion about the author or writing style: The writing style felt authentic. Even the weird dialects were easier to read than Joseph in Wuthering Heights, so that's nice.
Favorite Passage:
"If you tell the truth you do not need a good memory!"
_______
"I felt good and all washed clean of sin for the first time I had ever felt so in my life, and I knowed I could pray now. But I didn't do it straight off, but laid the paper down and set there thinking—thinking how good it was all this happened so, and how near I come to being lost and going to hell. And went on thinking. And got to thinking over our trip down the river; and I see Jim before me, all the time, in the day, and in the nighttime, sometimes moonlight, sometimes storms, and we a-floating along, talking and singing and laughing. But somehow I couldn't seem to strike no places to harden me against him, but only the other kind. I'd see him standing my watch on top of his'n, 'stead of calling me, so I could go on sleeping; and see him how glad he was when I come back out of the fog; and when I come to him again in the swamp, up there where the feud was; and such-like times; and would always call me honey, and pet me and do everything he could think of for me, and how good he always was; and at last I struck the time I saved him by telling the men we had smallpox aboard, and he was so grateful, and said I was the best friend old Jim ever had in the world, and the only one he's got now; and then I happened to look around, and see that paper.
It was a close place. I took it up, and held it in my hand. I was a-trembling, because I'd got to decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself:
'All right, then, I'll go to hell'—and tore it up."
My ratings-
Writing Style: 90
Relatability: 90
Originality: 90
Personal impact: 90
Plot: 80
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
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:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
I loved Huck and Jim and really engaged with their plight and the harshness of that era. However. I felt the feeling of the book completely changed when Tom came along and it all became focused on him and became all a bit silly. If he were left out, I would’ve given it 5 stars! Sorry Tom!!
adventurous
medium-paced
this was a 5 star masterpiece for about 85% of the book, but that ending really takes the wind out of the sails. really glad i took the time to read this before James.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism
Moderate: Addiction
Minor: Murder