James by Percival Everett

 

Summary (from the publisher): A brilliant reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn—both harrowing and satirical—told from the enslaved Jim's point of view.

When Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he runs away until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck has faked his own death to escape his violent father. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond.

Brimming with nuanced humor and lacerating observations that have made Everett a literary icon, this brilliant and tender novel radically illuminates Jim's agency, intelligence, and compassion as never before. James is destined to be a major publishing event and a cornerstone of twenty-first-century American literature.

Review: "We're slaves. We're not anywhere. Free person, he can be where he wants to be. The only place we can ever be is in slavery" (219). 

What a beautiful reimagining of Mark Twain's novel. While I am sometimes wary of retellings of classic novels, this one felt original and strikingly necessary because it gives voice and agency to Jim, or James as he prefers to be called in this novel. 

This is a novel about slavery, repression, and survival. James spends his life tiptoeing around whites, desperately seeking small shreds of agency and humanity that he can find. A major theme of this book is language and specifically the ways in which James and his fellow slaves use language differently with whites and between themselves. With whites, James uses a heavy dialect and in effect plays dumb and pretends a lack of understanding, in order to always appear deferential and inferior. But with other slaves, he speaks with an intelligence and fluidity with language that would astound his owners. Early on in the novel, James is seen conducting a lesson with children, teaching them how to speak to whites. Later, when he drops his dialect, Huck notices immediately and questions him about his change in speech. 

There are moments in this book that are horrifying. In many ways, James never directly addresses his emotions or feelings at what he observes and experiences but the strain on him is evident in his actions, especially as the novel proceeds to the conclusion. 

This was a quick read and a profound one. Writing from James' perspective forces the reader to fully immerse themselves in the horrific world of slavery. Everett took some liberties with the plot and has some big reveals near the end that likely would have horrified Mark Twain. While subversive and daring choices, they worked for me and they help explain James' actions and his relationship with Huck. 

Stars: 5