This book is built on the fascinating concept: A female president who is a descendent of Andrew Johnson works to pass The Forgiveness Act into law. This law provides all African Americans who can prove they are the descendants of slaves with financial reparations. While this national story plays out, domestic drama also unfolds.

Willie is a single mother who reluctantly gave up her journalism career to help at her father's construction company. Raised by Black parents who seemed to care more about wealth and status than true, emotional connection, she's surprised that they're not more excited about the possibility of reparations. Her daughter, Paloma, struggles with her identity, specifically her experience as a budding playwright at a mostly white school. As the stories of these ladies play out, we also learn more about Willie's parents and grandfather.

Although I enjoyed the themes of the book and certain parts of it, it didn't gel with me as a whole. While Willie seems to get the most scenes and we can great insight into her actions and emotions, the other characters didn't get enough time for me to truly connect with them. I really wanted to learn more about Paloma's struggles. Sep was teased as having this whole life of resistance that we never get full visibility into. And while the Act lurks in the background and we do get to learn about each character's feelings about it, some aren't developed enough to be truly insightful.

All in all, I enjoyed this book and its intriguing plot. I do wish, though, that some of the secondary characters had more narrative depth.

Wow! If you’ve been seeing my stories, you know I was very excited about this book. Great news! It lived up to the hype & then some. It’s a modern-day masterpiece!

Percival Everett retells the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the point of view of Jim, the enslaved man who accompanies Huck on his journey. This new perspective is fascinating on many levels. By having Jim narrate, we “hear” his internal thoughts and struggles, while also finding out some surprising things about him. My favorite: He’s an articulate speaker who can read and write and uses “slave” language because it’s what white folks expect to hear from him. In this way, he subverts the feigned superiority of white enslavers.

While many events from the classic novel are retold here through Jim, we also get to learn about what happened to him when he & Huck were separated in the original narrative. Everett creates an unforgettable character in Jim. By making him the narrator, he reinforces the reality that enslaved people were vibrant, complicated, full human beings deserving of respect, acknowledgement & humanity (expressly against the common thought of the time AND the criticism leveled at Twain’s novel). Interestingly, Jim’s feelings about slaves and his lot in life change throughout his journey, too. The trajectory of these feelings is not what you assume it will be.

What affected me most were the little moments that enhanced the big set pieces. Jim getting a much-wanted pencil from another slave & keeping it close throughout his journey. Huck’s characterization subtlely changing, even as a secondary character. The growth of Jim’s anger as he sees more and more of the horror and inhumanity of slavery.

Although I did recently read the original novel, I don’t think you need to to enjoy this. It truly is an amazing piece of fiction, and (as of now) my favorite book of 2024.