James

Wow amazing reimagining of a classic. The writing, characters, story are all solid. The take away profound and powerful. I am so happy we moved past that time period where a lot of those awful stereotypes are debunked and blacks are no longer seen as valuable yet disposable vessels for labor (well not as bad, we still have the prison pipeline). While America has further to go we are making our way.

Some novels grab you immediately and refuse to let you go until you have read through to the last page. James is such a novel. It's brilliant, astonishing, and packs an emotional wallop. I haven't read Huckleberry Finn in over 30 years, so I have no idea how closely Everett tracked to that book -- but it is irrelevant. As a sharp, funny, heartbreaking examination of slavery and life in nineteenth century America, James stands on its own, whether you have read Huckleberry Finn or not.

This book should honestly be required reading for any school students that read Huck Finn. A bit dark at times due to the brutal nature of slavery, but this is one of my favorite books of the past few years.

Everett takes Huckleberry Finn, tells it from the point of view of Jim and makes it new. Fittingly, he combines a wild adventure story and sharp social commentary and does so to great effect. Best book I’ve read in a while.