Will I love James?

I love books that reimagine a story that is well known, challenging reader's assumptions about the characters or the circumstances they find themselves in, while also standing on its own for readers that haven't read the inspiration. JAMES brings Huck Finn's companion to life, giving him wit, intelligence, and agency. I read it twice, back-to-back. Easily my favorite read of 2025!

I didn't want this book to end. The way the author depicts the brutal reality of the south during slavery by telling the story of a boy's journey, determination, and audacity, is engaging, enraging, and endearing all at the same time.

I've read Huckleberry Finn several times so I loved getting this very different perspective on the events of that classical American novel. James comes off as a remarkable character.

The National Book Award winner that re-imagines Twai's Huck Finn, from the point of view of Jim. An absolutely amazing story, true to Twain's vision but also seeing the world with a rich and complex new perspective. Stunning, astonishing...and violently beautiful.

Percival Everett breathes new life into Twain's picaresque tale, creating his own literary tour de force of humor, irony, and insight, all from James's point-of-view. Adventures clip along at a heart-pounding pace, and James's observations are dagger-sharp. His advice to the children in the quarters on how to speak to master and missum gave me a bitter laugh, taking me back to department meetings at a previous job, where the tacit rule was that we underlings must never name the trouble because the bosses must know everything before us (even when they don't). Everett's novel never patronizes readers or over-explains,… show more.

This book retells Mark Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," but through the eyes of the slave Jim rather than through young Huck. As a result, many scenes are familiar, but viewed from a different perspective. It had been quite a few years since I read "Huckleberry Finn," and I wonder if it would have helped to have revisited that book before reading this. But I still remembered (or was reminded of) the major scenes and characters as I read. Everett also throws in a few original and significant plot points, so the final product is much more than just a… show more.

This book is fantastic...it tells a story that is a re-telling of a tale many of us are familiar with - "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," but with an unexpected twist that challenges our pre-conceptions.

This book is like a love letter to language, and how reading books can impact a life. There was humor, and surprises, and atmosphere. I loved learning the "other side" of Huckleberry Finn story and appreciated how complex James' character was. Beautiful!

James is an absolutely brilliant piece of writing - searing, insightful, but also surprisingly funny. Its reclamation of one of the Great American Novels from a totally different perspective absolutely works. Seeing Huckleberry Finn through Jim/James' eyes makes highlights how ingrained racism is and continues to be in American culture. But it's not preachy or dull - vivid characters contend with tense situations through dark humor. One of the best things I've read in years.

This book was also heart-touching and eye-opening. 

The writing was beautiful, the story was remarkable, and the insights were compelling. Maybe more than that, I kept finding myself reminded by how much our outlooks and opinions are shaped by the perspectives we receive.

Hearing “Jim’s” first-hand account was a drastically different experience than hearing about him through Huck Finn, and appreciating that—with all the complexities it entails—made the experience of reading James all the more enriching and enjoyable.