Book Review: James by Percival Everett

It can be a tricky thing to retell a classic story, even if the overabundance of Pride & Prejudice reimaginings might make it seem otherwise. Not only does the author need to make existing material feel like their own, they have to do so while maintaining at least some degree of respect to the source material. Acclaimed novelist Percival Everett handles the task with aplomb, using the framework of Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to explore the ways that America has stacked the deck against its Black citizens throughout its history.

Told from the perspective of Jim, who is the property of one of Huck Finn’s adoptive caretakers Miss Watson when we meet him, James offers a fresh take on the material that opens up new avenues for social satire that resonates with modern times. When Jim overhears that he is to be sold and separated from his wife and daughter, he runs away, hoping to make his way somewhere he can save up money to one day return and buy their freedom. At the same time, Huckleberry also runs away to escape his abusive father. The two both encounter each other on a small island in the nearby Mississippi River where Jim realizes that everyone will now suspect that he had something to do with Huck’s disappearance and begin searching for him even more relentlessly than they already would have. Nevertheless, he reluctantly agrees to bring Huck with him and they set off down the river on a discovered raft.

As they sail along the waterway they have a variety of encounters with varying degrees of danger, most of which will be familiar to readers of Twain’s original. But each feels at least a little more fraught with risk due to Jim’s skin color. Whereas Huck can easily blend in almost everywhere he goes, things are not so simple for Jim who is immediately viewed with suspicion by everyone they meet, a fact that he is acutely aware of. That he, and most of the other slaves in the book, are more erudite than they let on around white people only adds to the challenges he experiences when interacting with them, making sure to hide his intellect so as to avoid upsetting their perceived sense of superiority. It’s a smart gimmick on Everett’s part that only further highlights the cruel and pointless inequality of the country’s attitudes towards Blacks that leaves one wondering how often it might have played out in reality, and possibly continues to.

The plot deviates the most from the original whenever the duo become separated, with Jim’s solo encounters allowing for even more serious reflections on the era’s racism in a way that feels reminiscent of Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad.

Everett’s writing is clever and engaging, effortlessly carrying readers along the currents with our adventurous pair. Like Twain, Everett blends adventure and satire with social commentary while keeping the reader entertained throughout. It does venture into some darker territory, especially in the latter half, but that only makes it more resonant. Whether or not you’ve read the original work, James will draw you in. ★★★★★