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A review by jdgcreates
James by Percival Everett
4.75
I marveled at this novel - Everett's masterful writing packs a deep emotional and historical punch, and does it at only 300 pages. The tale flows like the Mississippi River that features so prominently within it, and provides an important and very painful portrait of the enslavement of Africans in America that has, shamefully, not loosened its grip hundreds of years later.
James's refusal to surrender to white supremacy in his life included a few very satisfying turns of personal justice that had me cheering internally. This should become required reading in American schools, on its own if not alongside Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but even in 2025, I fear it will more than likely be banned instead as the racist bigots in the ruling class try to suppress and erase this foundational history altogether.
James's refusal to surrender to white supremacy in his life included a few very satisfying turns of personal justice that had me cheering internally. This should become required reading in American schools, on its own if not alongside Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but even in 2025, I fear it will more than likely be banned instead as the racist bigots in the ruling class try to suppress and erase this foundational history altogether.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence
Moderate: Child abuse