James
By: Percival Everett
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 303
Published: March 19, 2024
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday
Dates Read: January 2, 2026 - January 10, 2026
Format: Hardcover		ISBN: 9780385550369

Trigger Warnings: slavery, racism, racial slurs, rape, violence, murder

A reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn told through the voice of Jim.

When Jim overhears he’s about to be sold and separated from his wife and daughter forever, he runs away until he can think of a plan to get his family together. Meanwhile, Huck has faked his own death to escape his abusive father. The two meet up while hiding and thus begin their adventure down the Mississippi River.

Full disclaimer, I have never read Adventures of Huckleberry Finn but I know of the story and generally what happens in it because it’s kind of hard not to, especially growing up in Kansas and now living in Missouri and the fact that Mark Twain is highly talked about. I have, however, read Tom Sawyer, so I knew a little going into this.

I put off reading this because I read The Trees by Percival Everett and just remembered I needed to really focus on it to understand it all. And, I’m going to be honest, this book started off a bit hard to read because of the dialect written in it first thing and I didn’t know if I was ready for it. But, it reminded me of one of my favorite sci-fi writers, P. Djélí Clark, and how I just need to not speedread it to fully enjoy it. I slowed down my reading and it finally “clicked” and I could enjoy it and appreciate it! Especially once you learn what that dialect really is.

I think one of the craziest parts of this was the blackface minstrel troupe… like, that was a real thing?? The history of racism really baffles me sometimes and what people had as “entertainment” back in the day would cause heart attacks nowadays.

Overall, I really enjoy this retelling/changed perspective of Huckleberry Finn. I don’t read a lot in this timeline but appreciate what this brought about freedom, race, and the enduring impact of slavery.