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A review by tvislife
James by Percival Everett
4.0
Brilliant and fast-paced. This book follows the slave Jim, from the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and tells an imagining of his story throughout that book.
I am not someone that typically enjoys literary fiction or a lot of classical-leaning literature, but I loved this. I was honestly shocked at how fast I flew through this book, I thought I’d have to force myself to finish. Everett has a fast-paced and witty tone, and the book never feels slow or boring.
I loved the idea of Jim, and all slaves, code switching to speak to the whites, and I thought it was done very very well. I’ve seen some complaints about how that seemed “ridiculous” that Jim was seen as simple-minded, while quoting Voltaire and teaching philosophy to his family / other slaves. To that, I’ll just once again say that I think Everett is brilliant. It didn’t have to be “realistic”, it just showed the deep humanity and the capability of deep, rational thought that James had as a human being, regardless of his status as a slave. I really enjoyed this!
I am not someone that typically enjoys literary fiction or a lot of classical-leaning literature, but I loved this. I was honestly shocked at how fast I flew through this book, I thought I’d have to force myself to finish. Everett has a fast-paced and witty tone, and the book never feels slow or boring.
I loved the idea of Jim, and all slaves, code switching to speak to the whites, and I thought it was done very very well. I’ve seen some complaints about how that seemed “ridiculous” that Jim was seen as simple-minded, while quoting Voltaire and teaching philosophy to his family / other slaves. To that, I’ll just once again say that I think Everett is brilliant. It didn’t have to be “realistic”, it just showed the deep humanity and the capability of deep, rational thought that James had as a human being, regardless of his status as a slave. I really enjoyed this!