Readers Dessert

I belong to two book clubs and they both picked James as the next read. Because I hadn’t read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn for decades, I decided to give it a quick read first. I really didn’t enjoy Huck Finn that much, but felt that it did help to read it prior to reading James.

Percival Everett has done a masterful job telling the story from the perspective of James, the slave. I thought he created a completely believable character. I’m not giving anything away to say that we learn at the very beginning of the book that James has a family. In doing so, I thought Everett created an urgency in the story that made it a great read.

I could go on and on about this brilliant book. It’s at the top of my list for the best of 2024 reads.

I honestly only have minimal memory of “The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain. I know I read it after “Tom Sawyer” and I was probably eight or nine years old-that was the time frame when I was borrowing a lot of classics from my local library. I recall Huck’s basic character and I did not pay as much attention to the character of Jim. Granted, I was a child and I did not yet care about the perspectives of adults (particularly male viewpoints as I was already a budding feminist!) so I am glad (like thousands and thousands of others) that I picked up “James” by Percival Everett.

This is the book we did not know we needed. Powerful and memorable, funny and poignant, and a masterful work everyone should read. Everett has a masterful writing style and the reader is immediately drawn into the narrative. Giving voice to Jim was a brilliant choice and stirs up so many emotions. This one is a keeper, get it now!! I would definitely enjoy a sequel!

JAMES by Percival Everett

Narration by Dominic Hoffman was perfectly done. Percival Everett has written a brilliant story of reimagining at its best. I absolutely loved everything he took liberty with in this story about James. James is a father and husband, and an enslaved man living in Missouri before the civil war. I suppose you can say this is a reboot of Mark Twain’s 1884 novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, narrated by the enslaved Jim. James is a father and husband, and an enslaved man living in Missouri before the civil war. James has found out he is to be sold and separated from his family. He flees to a deserted island and encounters Huckleberry Finn, also on the run.

The two begin their adventure in this entertaining read on multiple levels that is painful, funny, gripping and horrifying. This is definitely a top read for me in 2024 and Percival Everett certainly knocked it out of the park with this ingenious book. Kudos to him!??“To fight in a war,” he said. “Can you imagine?”?“Would that mean facing death every day and doing what other people tell you to do?” I asked.?“I reckon.”?“Yes, Huck, I can imagine.”