James (Pulitzer Prize Winner) - Percival Everett - [PDF download] - Books Focus
James (Pulitzer Prize Winner) - Percival Everett

James (Pulitzer Prize Winner)

By Percival Everett

  • Release Date: 2024-03-19
  • Genre: Historical Fiction
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 3,554 Ratings
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Description

A brilliant, action-packed reimagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both harrowing and ferociously funny, told from the enslaved Jim's point of view.

From the “literary icon” (Oprah Daily), Pulitzer Prize Finalist, and one of the most decorated writers of our lifetime

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 The 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.

Reviews

  • Outstanding

    5
    By Fangsout
    Best book i’ve read in years. Highly recommended.

  • Brilliant

    5
    By KHConde
    One of the most creative and revealing books I have ever read. The idea of flipping a classic such as Huck Finn on its spine and exposing the racism of American history through a misunderstood character that is compassionate, heroic and courageous through a heartbreaking journey. Brilliant and a must read for all Americans.

  • Outstanding

    5
    By Handakina
    What a reading adventure to the other side of the legendary Jim. Brilliant writing and story telling.

  • A Disturbing Twist on Huckleberry Finn

    4
    By Scott's take on things
    What was hard for me about this book was how much James learned on his own. I couldn’t imagines anyone getting to that erudition without any help, in secret, and not getting caught. It helped Everett make manifest the horrors of slavery but he’s is a good enough writer to have done that without creating an almost God like protagonist. James’ erudition, and his imagined conversations with progressive thinkers and philosophers, enables Everett to expose the hypocrisy of “enlightened” thinking at that time. I am not sure how Everett would have been able to do this otherwise, but it seemed a somewhat forced novelistic device. I thought Everett’s depictions of the physical violence of slavery, especially its psychological dehumanization and brutality, was superb. The horror is conveyed but never gratuitously. This book, experienced in conjunction with Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, should be a requirement for any US citizen.

  • Brilliant.

    5
    By Title misfit
    Compelling, enthralling, magnificent.

  • Loved!

    5
    By Lolipop22222222220
    LOVED!!! It was Amazing! I will definitely tell others to read it.

  • Creative and eye opening

    5
    By amwgmail2019
    Captivating, unexpected, and such an easy read.

  • Read it.

    5
    By TGFOW
    Terribly Excellent.

  • Great book

    5
    By Renbrat
    What strange ending . Very interesting

  • Don’t Hesitate - Read It

    5
    By ajgoldbug
    One of he best books I’ve read in the last five years. Extraordinary! Highly recommended.

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