James by Percival Everett’s
Percival Everett’s James is a bold and brilliant reimagining of Mark Twain’s classic, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Told from the perspective of Jim, here called James, the novel transforms him from a caricature into a deeply intelligent, literate, and resourceful man. When James overhears plans to sell him and separate him from his wife and daughter, he flees to Jackson Island, where he meets Huck Finn, who has staged his own death to escape abuse. Their journey down the Mississippi becomes a gripping odyssey through danger, deception, and moral complexity. Along the way, James encounters robbers, con men, and even engages in fever-dream debates with philosophers like Voltaire, underscoring the book’s intellectual depth.
Everett does not shy away from the horrors of slavery, but he balances these with moments of wit, tenderness, and philosophical inquiry, making the novel both harrowing and humane.
Critics have hailed James as a triumph, praising Everett’s portrayal of James as strategic and self-aware.
Ultimately, James is more than a retelling, it is a reclamation. Everett gives voice to a character long overshadowed, crafting a story that interrogates freedom, identity, and the power of storytelling itself. It is a novel that feels urgent, profound, and destined to become a cornerstone of contemporary American literature.
