James

A Novel

First Edition, 302 pages

English language

Published March 19, 2024 by Doubleday.

ISBN:
978-0-385-55036-9
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OCLC Number:
1428082992

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5 stars (4 reviews)

When Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he runs away until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck has faked his own death to escape his violent father. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond.

Brimming with the electrifying humor and lacerating observations that have made Everett a literary icon, this brilliant and tender novel radically illustrate’s Jims agency, intelligence, and compassion as never before. James is destined to be a cornerstone of twenty-first century American literature.

4 editions

Delivered in spades

4 stars

It’s a great concept and handled so well. This book dances around what’s hidden beneath the surface of Huckleberry Finn - the humanity and dehumanization of black Americans.

It’s still an adventure story and it moves fast and is an easy read, but delivers a look under the surface of every possible interaction. Some of it felt very magical and there’s a scene in an engine room that feels like the best parts of Catch-22.

Very happy for all the recommendations that led me to this book.

Subjects

  • Fiction
  • Literary Fiction
  • Historical Fiction
  • Slavery
  • Fugitive Slaves
  • Mississippi River
  • Missouri
  • Illinois