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A review by blkgrl_bibliophile
James by Percival Everett
5.0
Wow.
I never knew I needed a version of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from Jim’s point of view, but after reading this, I can now appreciate that this was both that and an extension of that, making it a classic in its own right.
As a 12 year old, I first read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as the only Black student in a class full of white students. There was no censoring of the text and I vividly remember listening to the n-word either being said with hesitancy or with glee by my classmates as the teacher called on us to popcorn read in class. Despite the heaviness and awkwardness of those moments, I loved the book because I loved the relationship between Jim and Huck, plus the idea of adventure was appealing to my 12 year old self.
As a 43 year old absorbing the words of James, I was taken back to those memories of being in that classroom as I listened to Jim battle with the code switching he slipped in and out of throughout the book, so as not to appear too smart to the white people. Coupled with the other microaggressions (hair touching) and the blatant blackface/minstrel shows, this book smartly juxtaposes the realities and traumas of the enslaved with what I and other Black people seemingly deal with today but in the rather covert (and sometimes overt) forms.
I didn’t know what to expect and I am not one for cliffhangers, but I appreciate Everett allowing the reader to make what they will of James and his family’s outcome once they reach the north.
And let me not forget Jim revealing to Huck that he was his father and Huck’s grappling with wanting to “be a slave” so that he can remain with him. Even as a 12 year old, I always felt there was a reason that Huck gravitated and felt understood by Jim more than others, even Tom, so this was an excellent way to play on that relationship.
I hope schools are no longer making students read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but if they are, I hope James is a part of that reading as well.
I never knew I needed a version of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from Jim’s point of view, but after reading this, I can now appreciate that this was both that and an extension of that, making it a classic in its own right.
As a 12 year old, I first read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as the only Black student in a class full of white students. There was no censoring of the text and I vividly remember listening to the n-word either being said with hesitancy or with glee by my classmates as the teacher called on us to popcorn read in class. Despite the heaviness and awkwardness of those moments, I loved the book because I loved the relationship between Jim and Huck, plus the idea of adventure was appealing to my 12 year old self.
As a 43 year old absorbing the words of James, I was taken back to those memories of being in that classroom as I listened to Jim battle with the code switching he slipped in and out of throughout the book, so as not to appear too smart to the white people. Coupled with the other microaggressions (hair touching) and the blatant blackface/minstrel shows, this book smartly juxtaposes the realities and traumas of the enslaved with what I and other Black people seemingly deal with today but in the rather covert (and sometimes overt) forms.
I didn’t know what to expect and I am not one for cliffhangers, but I appreciate Everett allowing the reader to make what they will of James and his family’s outcome once they reach the north.
And let me not forget Jim revealing to Huck that he was his father and Huck’s grappling with wanting to “be a slave” so that he can remain with him. Even as a 12 year old, I always felt there was a reason that Huck gravitated and felt understood by Jim more than others, even Tom, so this was an excellent way to play on that relationship.
I hope schools are no longer making students read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but if they are, I hope James is a part of that reading as well.