At first glance, James: A Novel by Percival Everett (Doubleday, March 2024) is a clever retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn but quickly proves to be much more. Huck Finn joins runaway slave Jim on an adventure down the Mississippi River, to be joined by con men and more.
But that is only the beginning premise for the book. For one thing, James provides a complicated and insightful commentary on the inherent intelligence of those enslaved, showing that they not only used proper vocabulary among themselves but also knew much more about the world than their white counterparts. Family time was spent practicing using the slave dialect so the white people wouldn’t suspect. The slaves wanted to be underrated.
Jim himself wanted to be known by his proper name, James. He longed for more chances to read the volumes by the philosophers in Judge Thatcher’s library. Once he does escape, Huck is frequently surprised by Jim’s collection of books as he adds them to the raft.
“Why would you want those?” Huck questions.
Always ready with an excuse, Jim properly stammers a reply about learning to read. He plays along with Huck’s games and tricks because he has a fondness for the boy. He stays with him for similar reasons.
About mid-way through the book, the story shifts away from the Huckleberry Finn timeline, and it is eventually satisfying. Just as in the original novel Huck has his own adventure just as he wanted it, this time James gets his adventure, although it isn’t a completely pleasant one. We get to see more glimpses into his contemporary world of slavery. The contrast between James’ intelligent world and the more vicious world of slavery (which is just as I’d expect 1850s slavery to be) is shocking. (Note: As may be expected, these sections contain violence, rape, and other disturbing concepts.) The author uses this shock to give James the impetus to lead a movement toward freedom.
I loved the concluding chapters. I love that James showing his intelligence to the white people was more frightening to them than the physical danger present. I love the twists to James’ and Huck’s story. I may have said too much in this brief review, but yet there is much to uncover, discuss, and consider so it’s still worth the read of course. It’s a book that can’t be spoiled. For example, I’m not familiar with the arguments from Voltaire and Locke that James discusses. This is a philosophical book too, and I believe when I do read those passages and compare them to James, I’ll see the direct connections to James’ own philosophical discussions. There is much to appreciate in James.
