Kaylia Metcalfe

Atmosphere

So the book, like Huckleberry Finn before it, is set in the decades before the US Civil War. Slavery is a hot-button issue for everyone specifically in Missouri where the novel takes place. Historical note, At the time of both Huck Finn and James, slavery was legal in Missouri but its impact was still being felt in “free” areas” as well. There were still laws on the books that allowed people to capture and force Blacks in “free states” back into bondage in “slave states.” Since slavery and freedom are central themes of both books, it bears repeating. The atmosphere will be fraught with danger and tension even more than in Huck Finn because James is in a much more precarious situation than Huck ever was. A few notes on this change, what it means, and why it matters. 

James is a retelling of a fictional book that dealt with fictionalized events that were very real: slavery in the US. You could make the compelling case that this novel is fan fiction as it takes a character already created by another author and then reimagines their internal life and perspective. While many of the plot points for Huck Finn are recognizable in James, we get the story from a different narrator in a different voice, and this novel is here to teach us slightly different lessons than its progenitor. 

Huckleberry Finn takes place in the decades before the Civil War but was published in 1885, decads AFTER the Civil War, and it was a way for Twain to explore the recent past and to criticize slavery by discussing themes of freedom, civilization, and prejudice. But let’s not forget that it was a sequel to the very popular Tom Sawyer book and some of the lessons Twain was attempting to teach were, according to many sources, an afterthought or a two birds one stone sort of thing. Capitalize on a popular book, yes… And teach people something at the same time? Sounds great! And let’s be real here, Huck Finn is a very well written book full of vivid descriptions, interesting characters, and a story that moves along at a pretty good pace and has enough tension to keep both children and adults invested. There is a reason it is still taught in high school lit classes to this day.

Ok, so now we have James which was published in 2024. It still focuses on the horribleness of slavery and touches on freedom etc… but it is really here to undermine the very common social narrative that Black people are less than which still permeates our society even to this day over a hundred and fifty years after the Civil War.

The book is not trying to tell us that racists exist. We all already know that. It isn’t even trying to make a case that Black people are just as good and worthy of life and liberty and freedom as white people… again, most of us, especially those of us who are going to pick up this book to begin with, already know that. This book is here to chip away at the arguments that those who don’t believe in or support equality, use to support their outdated and bigoted attitudes. And that is where the code-switching comes in. 

What is code-switching, you might ask… well, it is when you talk one way around one group of people and a totally different way around other groups. We all do this to a certain extent. The way we talk to our bosses or clients is different from the way we talk to our family members or closest friends. 

But code-switching as a concept goes further than just using formal vs informal language. It has to do with culture and being yourself in your community. The jargon, the diction, the subject matter… those are part of code-switching too. And… and here is the kicker… unless you are In, and I mean fully in, a community, you don’t get to hear the actual real way that that community talks to one another. 

So for example, this book has Black people talking to one another in a way that is not the way that Black people, especially in that time period, are regularly depicted as talking. Because the people doing the writing and getting things published at that time were mostly white and mostly not interested in accurate portrayals of how other people actually talked.

I think this can be a hard concept for a modern-day reader because if you are even a little well-read, you have read books by BIPOC authors, and a lot of those BIPOC authors, especially in recent years, have taken explicit care to write authentically. So… I have read books by Black authors about Black characters and the way these characters talk to one another might not be how Black people talk to me, a white lady, in everyday language, but I have the social and cultural awareness to realize that I am being allowed a peek behind the curtain of Black culture when I read these books. And I accept that because they are modern books.

However, James is a book about Black people in the 1830s talking in a way that no white person in the 1830s would expect a Black person to “be able to” do. Which… is because of the super racist attitudes that were so prevalent in US society. 

But just because white writers and readers of the 1830s and the 1890s didn’t see something happening or hear something happening… doesn’t actually mean that it wasn’t happening. I love that mind-bleepery aspect of this book. I love that it takes this social thing that a lot of us have not given much thought to and unveils a whole different aspect of reality.

Style

As stated, the novel is from James’s POV, or Jim’s, and the story is told totally in his voice. And here’s a fun twist, as it were. James has two voices. Actually, scratch that, he has 2.5 voices. There is the internal voice and then his spoken voice… and that spoken voice changes depending on where he is and who is listening. This code-switching could cause whiplash but we, the reader, clue in pretty fast to both the subtle, and not-so-subtle differences, in his speech pattern as well as why he is switching in the first place. And so the style of the book is a man telling us a story, but the way he chooses to tell us that story, his word choice, his decision to let us in on the secret of how smart, world-wise, and articulate he is… that is part of the story as well. I have not read anything else by Everett, but from what I can gather, this use of voice is distinct to this novel. It was a pleasure to read it.

And yes, there are characters with accents but they are not hard to read or parce. Average readers will have no problem understanding the words, dialogue, descriptions, etc.

Plot / Pacing

A common question I have seen regarding this book is “what if I don’t remember Huck Finn from high school?” or “do I need to read huck Finn to get this book?” 

Let me assure you. James stands on its own. And there are some definite creative liberties taken in this version of events. If you are a Huck Fin super fan, you might not appreciate the changes. If you are a moderate fan or only vaguely remember the story, you will probably enjoy the story on it’s own merits. If you are really concerned, a 5-minute read of the main plot points from Wikipedia will suffice… but again, the story stands on its own and honestly, I think it is better if you go into only half remembering Huck Finn. That’s how I read it and zero regrets.

The plot moves along and there is not a bit of wasted time or space. Huck Finn tended to meander a bit and there were slower parts you kind of had to muddle through… but James holds its pace throughout. 

Characters

(yes, I am going out of order, it happens)

The James of this novel is far more fleshed out and engaging than the Jim character of Huck Finn. Which… I think is fine. He is the main character this time around and Everett clearly has a political agenda here. (Black people being worthy of respect and deserving to not be slaves shouldn’t be political… but sadly, it still is.) I loved James’ voice in this novel. I think the addition of the code-switching is what makes this novel work and raises it from quaint fan fiction to historical fiction of note. 

And before anyone write in all angry, I am not saying that fan fiction per sey is bad. I have definitely enjoyed a few titles over the years that were pretty much well-done fan fiction (Reader, I Murdered Him and The Chossen and the Beautiful come instantly to mind) but writing fan fiction that transcends beyond the shipping and the audience wish fulfillment is tricky and can wander into the annoyingly insipid rather quickly. If all fan fiction was written at this caliber, with this much respect, and with this much intentional purpose of expanding the universe while staying true to the morals and messages of the original… well, that would be nice. Fingers crossed.

Huckleberry is actually a bit more sympathetic in this version as well. While Twain was a great writer, his young boy characters did all sort of feel cut from the same bolt of cloth and Huck Finn always seemed to be a slightly watered down and ever so slightly more mature Tom Sawyer… but in James Huck’s lesser qualities are not as apparent (probably because we aren’t in his pov) and he is a less frustrating character.

Entertaining

Yes. It was a moderately quick read, more’s the pity. I would have enjoyed staying in James’ world a bit longer because I really liked him and wanted to see him succeed.

This… Why THIS book?

Fourteen years ago I moved to Fresno and knew only one person so I, amoung other things, started a book club to meet people. I am continually glad that I did. Sometimes the books we read are on my TBR, sometimes they are random titles that I find really enjoyable. Occasionally we read things that I hate. But one of the best parts of book club isn’t always the books we read as a group, it is getting books recommended to me by people with similar reading tastes. That was the case of James. Both Sally and Monica talked about this book and how much they liked it. Sally, the former English teacher, can be picky (in the best way) and Monica the self-described slow reader is not big on making recommendations so when she says she loved a book enough to devote her limited time to it, I know there must be something special going on. I read the tagline of a retelling of Huck Finn and having no real emotional draw either toward or away from Huck Finn, I decided to give it a go. 

Final Thoughts AKA Would I Recommend it To Whom?

Yes. I strongly recommend this book. In fact, I think it should be a companion book to Huck Finn as a way of discussing how social norms change (and don’t), how code-switching works, how prejudice can be fought with exposure… and let’s be honest. This modern book written in a more modern style is going to appeal more to a modern audience. I’m not one of those “throw away the canon of old white men authors” people… I think we need to supplement the canon and expand the canon and this book is the perfect way to do so. 

Read this book if you like historical fiction, if you remember even a little bit of Huck Finn (even if you hated it), or if you want to be part of the ongoing conversation about Black rights in this country. I’m not sure this book would be here if not for the BLM movement and an Obama presidency. I would like to think that in another hundred and forty years there will be another version of this story and maybe by then the whole concept of slavery will be so alien that it will read like speculative fiction. One can hope.

Show notes:

James is a novel by author Percival Everett published by Doubleday in 2024. The novel is a re-imagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain but told from the perspective of Huckleberry’s friend on his travels, Jim, who is an escaped slave. The novel won the 2024 Kirkus Prize and the National Book Award for Fiction.

Percival Leonard Everett II (born December 22, 1956) is an American writer and Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Southern California. He is best known for his novels Erasure (2001), I Am Not Sidney Poitier (2009), and The Trees (2021), which was shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize. His 2024 novel James, also a finalist for the Booker Prize.

Erasure was adapted as the film American Fiction (2023), written and directed by Cord Jefferson, starring Jeffrey Wright, Sterling K. Brown, and Leslie Uggams.

Movie adaptation for James: Feature film rights in the novel were acquired in 2024 by Universal Pictures, with Amblin Entertainment for production and Steven Spielberg as executive producer. Taika Waititi was in early talks as director

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*** ASPECT Method (I created this, I used it, feel free to do the same.)

A Atmosphere: How did it make me feel? What was the world like? This might include the overall tone.

S Style: What was the writing style like? Simplistic or sophisticated? Clunky or beautiful?

P Plot/Pace: Was it engaging? Were there holes? Did it feel too rushed or too long?

E Enjoyment: Was it a chore to finish or compelling enough that I picked it over other fun activities?

C Characters: Were they believable, sympathetic, interesting?

T This? Why did I read *This* book? What “Type” of book is it?