James by Percival Everett

If you have yet to read a novel by Percival Everett, then you are missing out. While Everett has written 19 books over the last 20+ years, I didn’t discover his works until reading The Trees, which was shortlisted (it should have won) for the Booker in 2022. His latest novel, James, came out yesterday and will undoubtedly make its way onto at least one literary award list. I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy and here is what I thought…

James by Percival Everett
Publication date: March 19, 2024
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday
Rating: ★★★★.5
Order/Purchase it here: James

James is the retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of “Jim.” The novel remains faithful to Twain’s overall story arc but turns it all on its head in order to retell events from the perspective of Jim, a slave who runs away to avoid being sold away from his family. Jim and Huckleberry (who has faked his own death to escape an abusive father) meet up and embark on a series of adventures which highlight the racism of the times. In the Twain version, Huck is center stage and Jim is at times missing from the narrative as Huck gets embroiled in a series of difficult circumstances. Everett’s James is no children’s novel. It expands on, and gives voice to a character whose primary role in the classic novel is to provide a means to redeem the morality of white protagonist.

I tend to appreciate retelling of classic novels that provide voice for characters in the margins, but retellings can be exquisitely difficult to pull off and often deconstruct these classics in ineffective ways. This was not the case with this retelling. It’s no wonder that it’s brilliantly executed given Everett’s talent and penchant for the use of humor and satire to highlight the brutality and inhumanity of American slavery. The Jim in Everett’s novel is no passive sidekick. He is the main character with agency, intelligence, and strengths. He doesn’t exist to redeem Huck.

Everett writes with humor, but with the sort of humor that makes you uncomfortable because it highlights the oppression and brutality of American slavery. There are debates between James and deceased philosophers, a plethora of vaudeville-types of scenes and characters, and a unique blend of the tragic and absurd. It’s not just a retelling of a classic but an entirely new book that uses the structure of the classic but adds depth and additional adventures that take place where Jim was absent in the original.

I think the book is brilliant and I think Percival Everett is brilliant. James will undoubtedly become a classic and will probably make a few literary award lists. I do think that it’s worth reading the original first (I had read it in high school – a long time ago) and reading them in close proximity enhances the experience and appreciation for exactly what the author has achieved.

Want to try it for yourself? You can order a copy here: James*

We want to hear from you! Have you read any of Everett’s prior novels? Are you looking forward to this book? Have you read Huckleberry Finn?

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