oliviahamilton 's review for:

James by Percival Everett

4.5

adventurous medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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It took me a minute to get into this book, to be honest, but once I was in it, I was fully immersed. It's made me want to go back and read the Mark Twain books that I read (or skimmed) in school. The writing is rhythmic. The code-switching and life-or-death choices that the character has to make due to the time and society he lives in are gripping and intense.

I listened to this as an audiobook, and while it was beautifully performed, I do wonder if this is a book where print is the best medium. I went back and listened to the first few pages

(The beginning of Daniel Emmett's notebook with his blackface songs)

because they made no sense to me at the beginning, but would have made more sense on the page. Not really a criticism, but just a note if you're wavering between the two mediums. The pro of the audiobook is that it's like an adventurous oral history, as if James is telling you the story himself.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Slavery

Moderate: Rape