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misslisa11 's review for:
James
by Percival Everett
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Book 177 of 2024: James by Percival Everett
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father, recently returned to town. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and too-often-unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond. Everett takes the story of Huckleberry Finn and flips it on its head, making the enslaved Jim the narrator; Jim thinks of himself as James, and has a rich interior life to which his white enslavers are completely oblivious.
Final book for Phyllis’s Former Student Book Club 2024! It’s been a fantastic year of reading retellings and this book was the cherry on top. This book was incredibly smart and sharp. There were so many humorous moments, which were in juxtaposition to the horrors of slavery that the book did not shy away from. One of my favorite things about the novel is Everett's depiction of how James and his fellow enslaved Black people talk. He and his family speak better English than their enslavers, but they hide their skills whenever whites are around, talking in an exaggerated 'slave dialect' so that the whites will not feel threatened. 'Jim' is thus a persona, a mask that James puts on so he can navigate the impossible world he was born into. The reader sees this time and time again throughout the book in all of James’s interactions, and I was truly fascinated by his character’s depth. The book was mixed with engrossing adventure and heartfelt insight, making it a true standout read for me. I definitely recommend picking up James!
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father, recently returned to town. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and too-often-unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond. Everett takes the story of Huckleberry Finn and flips it on its head, making the enslaved Jim the narrator; Jim thinks of himself as James, and has a rich interior life to which his white enslavers are completely oblivious.
Final book for Phyllis’s Former Student Book Club 2024! It’s been a fantastic year of reading retellings and this book was the cherry on top. This book was incredibly smart and sharp. There were so many humorous moments, which were in juxtaposition to the horrors of slavery that the book did not shy away from. One of my favorite things about the novel is Everett's depiction of how James and his fellow enslaved Black people talk. He and his family speak better English than their enslavers, but they hide their skills whenever whites are around, talking in an exaggerated 'slave dialect' so that the whites will not feel threatened. 'Jim' is thus a persona, a mask that James puts on so he can navigate the impossible world he was born into. The reader sees this time and time again throughout the book in all of James’s interactions, and I was truly fascinated by his character’s depth. The book was mixed with engrossing adventure and heartfelt insight, making it a true standout read for me. I definitely recommend picking up James!