James: A Novel

"Plus Percival Everett (author of The Trees , a hilarious and horrifying buddy-cop novel shortlisted for the Booker in 2022 ) will return with James , a reworking of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn narrated by Jim, the escaped slave with whom Finn travels on a raft. In a starred review , Publishers Weekly noted that in this version, Jim is “a Black man who’s mastered the art of minstrelsy to get what he needs from gullible white people.” Jim’s “wrenching odyssey concludes with remarkable revelations, violent showdowns, and insightful meditations on literature and philosophy,” it adds: “Everett has outdone himself.” I’ve got my pre-order in already. What are you looking forward to this season? Let us know your selection of the most notable fiction of spring 2024 via social media."

"Dominic Hoffman narrates this reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , but this time Jim tells his own story. Hoffman’s performance captures the varying tone of Jim’s dialogue, highlighting the shifts in his vocabulary and rhythm. With its subtlety and attention to detail, Hoffman’s narration reinforces Jim’s character and narrative arcs as Jim takes back his agency in life. (7 hours, 50 minutes)"

"Well, first of all, James is obviously connected to Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn . It is not a retelling of that story, but in a way it’s the same universe. Percival has said himself that it’s not a correction. But is it a revisionist book? Yes, I guess it is. It’s from the perspective of Jim, or James, and we look at slavery from his perspective. We look at his incredible struggle, how his family is affected, how he has been separated from them and his struggle to reach them again. It has a revenge theme, kind of. But I guess I look at it as there being some historical catharsis, reading this book in relation to historical racism and slavery. It’s more of a cathartic narrative than a derivative one. I loved it, it’s a great book and he’s an incredible writer. It’s so interesting how he uses language. There’s an ironic twist. Which I enjoyed, and I enjoyed the masterful way in which he takes us on a journey—but one that is familiar to us. There’s something about this, in going into literature that we all know and addressing it in a different way that is powerful and adds an extra layer. What he has done is redress the historical nature of the fiction, but also the historical nature of an author."