A review by probablyjenna
James by Percival Everett

adventurous emotional funny tense fast-paced

5.0

I think James is an absolutely brilliant and one of a kind literary experience. One of a kind, despite being a loose retelling of Huck Finn. A good retelling brings something new to the table, spins the narrative in a way that enriches the original material, and causes you to rethink what you already know (or think you know), and James does that flawlessly.

This book uses humor really purposefully; Percival Everett forces you to think while you laugh, using his power of observation & wit to send messages about race, power, and pain. This is my first book by Everett, but I am eagerly looking forward to diving into his backlog.

I’m familiar with the story of Huck Finn, but have never actually read the entire thing. That did not detract from my enjoyment of James at all, largely because James stanza so singularly as its own story. The life Everett breathes into each character is stunning, refreshing an old story and truly making it into something uniquely his own.

I really can’t recommend this one enough. It’s easily in my top books of the year so far.