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adventurous
challenging
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I love Huck Finn more than I love most books, so I was excited to read James. Perhaps it would have been better for me to not have known anything about the original text, because I was thoroughly distracted by the lack of cohecive timeline or characterization. James is not Jim. Huck is not Huck either. The beauty of the original and the choices each character makes are squandered and ignored in this retelling. So much has been changed that it feels incomparable to the work of Twain, like a 2025 reimagining of what those days would have been like. I won't say it's without merit-- I can certainly see it fostering interesting conversations -- but I think I hated it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Murder