James: A Novel

🎧 James is a brilliant retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from a fresh and necessary perspective. The only two books I’ve read by Mark Twain are Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, and I even wrote a paper on Twain in middle school, so I’m familiar with his iconic characters. Growing up, my parents had a full set of the classics, though I have no idea what happened to them. This book is sobering, beautifully written, and captures a tone reminiscent of Twain while offering a deeper, more compelling narrative. I can’t wait for my kids to read it.

A rollercoaster of emotions throughout the whole book - or rather a hill of emotions that I rolled down. The beginning was so sad and profound, but in an uplifting way; maybe there was hope and ignorance? The middle was fun at times, like Jim and Huck were in their own little world that wasn't affected by the larger world, nor did they add to society, just two people in the wind. By the end, similar to how James was feeling, hope was no longer a friend, hope was gone altogether, just like Jim. It was devastating and James was forever changed - he was hardened, traumatized, and broken; committing heinous, albeit somewhat justified, acts... because of the heinous character of society.

This beautifully written retelling of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim illustrates the importance of language and builds on Twain’s use of satire and dark humor from this classic novel. If you have not read Huckleberry Finn, read it first and then read James. This author was brave to reimagine the writing of the brilliant Mark Twain, but it was a risk that paid off with this bold masterpiece. Bravo!

I was fascinated by this re-envisioning of Twain’s original book, Huckleberry Finn. In particular, there were surprises throughout the book, especially Part III. Central to the perspective throughout was code-switching…something most of us do without fully realizing it. But the change in language style and the cautiousness of using standard language vs the more assumed vernacular were brilliantly infused throughout the book, including James teaching slave children how and when to code switch. It was a survival game tactic for both present and future lives for James and those he taught. Next, the concept of being rare, pirated, and treasured pencil and journal paper was an eye-opener. As a researcher, professor, and registered nurse, pencils, pens, and paper are everywhere for everybody…always. The idea of rarity for such common items in the novel foreshadowed other ‘common’ items as well. This point of view narrative by James himself provides a treasured journey into our history.

An exceptional read.