James by Percival Everett

Amy   

historical fiction

James is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain) retold from the slave, Jim’s, point of view.

This was a wonderful retelling, not only because of the creativity and genius of Percival Everett in having this idea and succeeding so well in its execution, but because Everett’s contemporary story pacing is much preferred by me than the original 1884 novel. I almost never appreciate old classic novels. They are just slower and less gripping than what I prefer and I get bored with them. In fact, I attempted to re-read Huckleberry Finn before starting this one and got too bored to finish. (I previously read it in the early 1980s as required school reading.) 

I don’t recall whether the reader understood that Jim was “playing dumb” in Huckleberry Finn but I suspect not. I thought it was so spectacular of Everett to depict Jim as not only self-educated, but capable, discerning, and practical. The fact that some slaves were able to become educated, unbeknownst to their owners is enlightening.

The minstrel show was a compelling storyline. I had learned that these troupes of white men in blackface appropriated the slave songs but hadn’t quite made the leap to understand that these same white men, in fact, wrote original songs to pass as slave songs. The minstrel group in James weren’t necessarily approving of slavery yet they were still willing to make a living by exploiting it. I truly appreciated all the song lyrics that Everett included in the novel, as well as the introduction to the real-life leader of the Virginia Minstrels, Daniel Emmett, who is credited with writing “Jimmy Crack Corn”.

While Twain attempted to illustrate slavery via Huck’s young, naive, white point of view, Everett was able to describe the same overarching story from Jim’s point of view which resulted in a richer, more thorough, and experiential description of what it was like to live as a slave in the years leading up to the Civil War.

It was also effective for Everett to use Jim’s dreams as a way to introduce broader, more philosophical perspectives about slavery and the American South in general.

The audibook was narrated by Dominic Hoffman. I’ve heard him narrate several other novels and he always does a terrific job. He has a nice vocal repertoire and a very clear voice despite his rough vocal texture. I enjoy his voice acting as well. I give him an A for James.