#BookReview of #James by Percival Everett

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
The Sunday Times Bestseller
Winner of the National Book Award for Fiction
Winner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction
Shortlisted for the Booker Prize
Shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award
Finalist for the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction

[ About James ]

The Mississippi River, 1861. 

When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a new owner in New Orleans and separated from his wife and daughter forever, he flees to nearby Jackson’s Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father who recently returned to town.

So begins a dangerous and transcendent journey along the Mississippi River, towards the elusive promise of the free states and beyond. As James and Huck navigate the treacherous waters, each bend in the river holds the promise of both salvation and demise. And together, the unlikely pair embark on the most life-changing odyssey of them all . . .

[ My Review ]

James by Percival Everett published 27th February 2025 with Picador and is described as ‘a profound and ferociously funny novel from one of our greatest living writers’.

Many, many years ago I read Huckleberry Finn so I was intrigued to see how Percival Everett’s reimagining would compare. When Jim, or as we now call him James, hears he is about to be sold he leaves his wife and child with the intention of earning his freedom elsewhere and coming back with money to buy his family out of slavery. From the beginning of his journey he is accompanied by Huck Finn, who is also running away but for different reasons. Together the pair embark on a dangerous adventure with James conscious at all times that if he is caught, he will swing. Huck’s naivety is evident from the beginning as he questions James and is confused about James’ bid for freedom.

What makes James so very different from the original 1884 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn novel is the character of James himself. He is given a strong voice, an educated and passionate voice, providing a platform for his story to flourish and grow. He can read. He can write. He has thoughts and opinions. But when the white man is nearby he falls back into the vernacular of the slave. In the opening chapters he sits with his children and teaches them slave dialect. When they query his actions he explains that ‘white folks expect us to sound a certain way and it can only help if we don’t disappoint them.’ He tells his children to mumble, to act stupid, to play down their intelligence, to be subservient, to be slave-like in all their mannerisms and actions. In order to survive, he knows this approach is their only hope.

As Percival Everett explores this extraordinary alternative angle to Mark Twain’s story, he brings James to the forefront of the novel, offering a perspective full of yearning, full of empathy, full of compassion. As the duo adventure on the Mississippi they face some appalling situations that need quick thinking and witness horrendous tragedy and suffering. There are a number of extremely heartrending scenes and some that are shocking to the extreme. The anguish throughout is palpable as the adversity of life in enslavement is captured with a sensitive pen.

James has little power over his own destiny and this lack of control, alongside the hardship and pain he endures, is all extraordinarily depicted by Percival Everett. James is very mindful of Huck and the dangers ahead. He is very much aware of the risks but Huck is obstinate and, more importantly, loyal. The relationship between James and Huck Finn is beautifully rendered, at times wrought with anguish, but also warm and caring.

James has won numerous awards, receiving acclaim from voices across the globe and deservedly so. My only small criticism is with the description. James is not a ‘ferociously funny‘ novel. It is a dark and unsettling tale, with touches of humour, one that gives a voice to the voiceless, one that highlights, in a very unique fashion, the life of a slave who very much sought more in life but was restrained and continuously beaten down by a society that saw them as less than worthless.

James is a remarkable read, one that will remain with me for quite some time. Intelligent, raw, emotional and poignant, James is a novel I highly recommend to all.

‘Without someone white to claim me as property, there was no justification for my presence, perhaps for my existence.’

[ Bio ]