James

A Novel

By: Percival Everett

Narrated by: Dominic Hoffman

Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A brilliant, action-packed reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both harrowing and darkly humorous, told from the enslaved Jim's point of view • From the “literary icon” (Oprah Daily) and Pulitzer Prize Finalist whose novel Erasure is the basis for Cord Jefferson’s critically acclaimed film American Fiction

"Genius"—The Atlantic • "A masterpiece that will help redefine one of the classics of American literature, while also being a major achievement on its own."—Chicago Tribune • "A provocative, enlightening literary work of art."—The Boston Globe • "Everett’s most thrilling novel, but also his most soulful."—The New York Times

"If you liked Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver, read James, by Percival Everett"—The Washington Post

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.

While many narrative set pieces of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn remain in place (floods and storms, stumbling across both unexpected death and unexpected treasure in the myriad stopping points along the river’s banks, encountering the scam artists posing as the Duke and Dauphin…), Jim’s agency, intelligence and compassion are shown in a radically new light.

Brimming with the electrifying humor and lacerating observations that have made Everett a “literary icon” (Oprah Daily), and one of the most decorated writers of our lifetime, James is destined to be a major publishing event and a cornerstone of twenty-first century American literature.

©2024 Percival Everett (P)2024 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Huck Finn’ Is a Masterpiece. This Retelling Just Might Be, Too."—The New York Times

"Percival Everett is a giant of American letters, and James is a canon-shatteringly great book. Unforgiving and compassionate, beautiful and brutal, a tragedy and a farce, this brilliant novel rewrites literary history to let us hear the voices it has long suppressed.”—Hernan Diaz, author of Trust

“This is a brilliant, accessible, and very necessary companion to Huckleberry Finn.”—Dave Eggers, author of The Eyes and the Impossible

A New Classic for the Western Canon

"James" is outstanding.

I was concerned, for the risk is real in mid-2020's publishing, that this tale of Huck Finn's adventure on the Mississippi through the eyes of the slave, Jim, would be reduced and distracted by mid-2020's social politics.

It isn't. This is a narrative that can stand the test of time. The themes of courage, adversity, choice, and human dignity are timeless.

I described the story above as Huck Finn through Jim's eyes. That, too, is reductive and inaccurate. This is the tale of James, a complex and morally rich character who undergoes a gut-wrenching ordeal. The ordeal is a lot of fun for us readers, but for James it is a harrowing experience that pushes him to overcome limitations and discover his true capabilities.

Along the way, James sometimes looks after a runaway boy named Huck.

"James" is derivative only in that it shares Mark Twain's universe, and that sometimes loosely.

It also shares Mark Twain's subversive compassion and humanity. I can't help but wonder if Samual Clemens would have written this book if his times had allowed for it. If he had, it could be no better than "James" as written by Professor Percival Everett.

Sometimes, rarely, one comes across a book that elevates the English language, in which every word is not just "right," but somehow "just right." C.S. Lewis wrote at that level. F. Scott Fitzgerald did it, sometimes. It's a beautiful thing when it happens.

It happens with "James."

The audio version is narrated by Dominic Hoffman, and I must admire the courage of a man who endeavors to do justice to such a book. He does, in a performance that matches perfectly the tone, rhythm, and ethos of Everett's prose.

"James" is wholly worthy of Mark Twain's canon. It should be, I hope and expect it will be, bundled with Huck Finn in school reading assignments from now on.

Prof. Everett already was a well known and well regarded contemporary literary figure. "James" may catapult Prof. Everett from fame to immortality.

Superbly done!

I was spellbound throughout this entire story. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys intelligent fiction.

Brilliant and devastating

This book should be mandatory reading by all white Americans. A captivating telling of this country’s brutal history by an all too human character. It is moving and important.

Outstanding

I'm a big fan of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and this feels like a necessary sequel that somehow seems to elevate the source material. It's funny, sobering, and intensely sad. The narrator was great too. These two books should be read together as both are required for the fuller picture. An instant classic!

Brilliant

For those who yearn for the picaresque, an imaginative and empathy-stirring take on Twain’s master work.

I cried with joy!

A masterpiece! I can't wait to see the movie and expose this chapter of what America has not been willing to face about the "Land of the free ..."!

WOW!!!!

This is the best book I’ve read in a very long time! So sad that it’s over.

Powerful perspective

I’m so glad that I listened to this story. The performance and story moved me. I highly recommend this.

Comprehension

The story was told in vivid detail. The narrator was superb. By the end I understood clearly, nakedly, how horrific the business of slavery infects each individual and society as a whole.

The hilarity of reversal of roles in our perception is why people. The language

I liked everything in the story. What I wasn’t comfortable with was how I felt when I read about the cruelty that these white people put upon the blacks. Also, i’m not used to the N-word being so freely used; however, it is a fact of life that it was.