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James

Everett, Percival

$37.99

7 in stock

7 in stock

‘Percival Everett is a giant of American letters, and James is a canon-shatteringly great book’ – Hernan Diaz, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Trust

From the Booker Prize-shortlisted author of The Trees

James is an enthralling and ferociously funny novel that leaves an indelible mark, forcing us to see Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in a wholly new and transformative light.

The Mississippi River, 1861. When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a new owner in New Orleans and separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson’s Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father who recently returned to town.

Thus begins a dangerous and transcendent journey by raft along the Mississippi River, toward the elusive promise of free states and beyond. As James and Huck begin to navigate the treacherous waters, each bend in the river holds the promise of both salvation and demise.

With rumours of a brewing war, James must face the burden he carries: the family he is desperate to protect and the constant lie he must live. And together, the unlikely pair must face the most dangerous odyssey of them all . . .

From the shadows of Huck Finn’s mischievous spirit, Jim emerges to reclaim his voice, defying the conventions that have consigned him to the margins.

Format: Paperback
Pages: 320
Imprint: Pan Macmillan UK
Publication date: 21/03/2024

Staff review

James
By Percival Everett
Review by Renata

The mercurial master does it again! Very few writers could successfully balance the choreography required by a breakneck plot with nuanced character, biting comedy, and excoriating revisionist history. Everett not only achieves all this (and more), but makes it look easy.

Here, Mark Twain’s Jim becomes James, the towering hero of a novel in which Huck Finn is relegated to his rightful place as sidekick. The tender – and revelatory – nature of the pair’s relationship is just one of this incredible novel’s many expertly evoked complexities. A new classic. Read it!

ISBN: 9781035031245 Categories: , Tag