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A review by matconnor
James by Percival Everett
5.0
A powerful read and hard to put down. This was my most anticipated novel of the year and it lived up to the hype.
When this novel was first announced, having read Everett's Erasure, I was expecting a biting satire full of dark humour. The satire is there but James is more realistic and horrifying than readers may expect. It reads like a historical thriller (or nightmare) at times, 12 Years a Slave with a tiny bit of dark humour. I would struggle to call this book funny like some reviewers have claimed. It’s clever and witty, but I don’t think Everett was going for laughs.
Mark Twain's Jim is loveable and there are hints at his interior life, but Jim is also sidelined throughout much of the book. There are long stretches where he's forced to stay behind on the raft or sits in a jail cell. Percival Everett restores James' (his preferred name) dignity and agency. James is not a rebuke of Twain's novel. It compliments and adds richness to Twain’s novel.
The best compliment I can give James is that I can't imagine reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn without following it up with James. It feels just as essential.
When this novel was first announced, having read Everett's Erasure, I was expecting a biting satire full of dark humour. The satire is there but James is more realistic and horrifying than readers may expect. It reads like a historical thriller (or nightmare) at times, 12 Years a Slave with a tiny bit of dark humour. I would struggle to call this book funny like some reviewers have claimed. It’s clever and witty, but I don’t think Everett was going for laughs.
Mark Twain's Jim is loveable and there are hints at his interior life, but Jim is also sidelined throughout much of the book. There are long stretches where he's forced to stay behind on the raft or sits in a jail cell. Percival Everett restores James' (his preferred name) dignity and agency. James is not a rebuke of Twain's novel. It compliments and adds richness to Twain’s novel.
The best compliment I can give James is that I can't imagine reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn without following it up with James. It feels just as essential.