Having never read Huckleberry Finn ( To Kill A Mockingbird was the school text of the seventies) or the books of Percival Everett, James was read with no influence/underlying thoughts of Mark Twain although the plot of the 'original' book was familiar James is a simply superb novel- this is an incredibly powerful and thought provoking story- turning HF on its head and telling the story from the perspective of James. James/Jim , his wife Sadie and daughter Lizzie are all slaves to Miss Watson. James talks and supports Huckleberry Finn. But when Finn's father returns home from time away, the boy fears for his life and fakes his own death; at the same time Jim finds out he is to be sold and separated from his wide and daughter and goes on the run. His disappearance along with the boy results in people believing he killed Huckleberry; the two go on the run. What follows is dramatic, heartbreaking and incredible storytelling. Jim's ability to read and write and speak with eloquence is something no slave should do - he even hides this from Finn. Their journey together is not easy and at certain points they are separated. Jim finds himself working for a violent blacksmith and also timber merchant, singing in a "black face" choir and encountering a myriad of people- other slaves and slave owners. Slavery, oppression, intelligence ,colour and identity, racial stereotypes are all present shining a clear light on the dark history of America- how different are things in a true societal context. This is an important novel and one that deserves recognition and plaudits.Percival Everett has written a modern masterpiece.

James by Percival Everett is a masterful story that is clever, creative and hugely enjoyable. James is the slave that Huckleberry Finn escaped with in the Mark Twain classic Huckleberry Finn and this is his story. We find out what happened to James when he is separated from Huck; and we realize how much danger he was really in. The characters in this one are multi-layered. This is a powerful story.

A brilliant novel. It does all I ask from a good one: great protagonist (in this case also narrator, James (the Jim of Huckleberry Finn's adventures) whose new voice draws you to his world and mind with unerring pull; a proper plot and peripeteia that even if you think you may know, you don't; Ideas galore about history, education, politics presented in an unfailing narrative-driven manner; and last but not least that unmistakably (I think!) Everett's humour - wry, ironic, knowing and always totally FUN, but intelligent, intellectually stimulating fun: the entertainment that asks big questions by presenting radically human circumstances that have to be navigated with grit, wit, hope... a bit like the Mississippi that structures the runaway's quest... So, proper adult entertainment. A novel that as it opened with a page inscribed "The Notebook of Daniel Decatur Emmett" I thought I would not be able to read, so difficult I found to understand and enjoy what seemed to me like transcriptions of (invented?) folk songs... well, they ARE, and they are real. We are made to read (no music) "Ole Dan Tucker", "Old Zip Coon" "Turkey in the Straw" "The Blue-Tail Fly"... and it is sobering reading. I should have known that the songs are real, that Daniel Emmett existed in real life... that he was (according to Wikipedia "an American composer, entertainer, and founder of the first troupe of the blackface minstrel tradition, the Virginia Minstrels.[2] He is most remembered as the composer of the song "Dixie". A notebook, language... the power of writing... no spoilers from me. This novel has to be read and enjoyed. With tremendous thanks to the publisher, Pan MacMillan via NetGalley from letting me read an advanced copy and review this tremendous novel, James.

Ok, so that's a Kipling reference, but nevertheless you don't need to have read any Twain to adore James. Easy to read, intelligent, engrossing, thought-provoking, horrifying and humourous, Everett continues to set the standard for great contemporary literature, entertaining and educating equally while he riffs on the novelists and philosophers of the past. James is absolutely sublime and I urge you to treat yourself to it.

Absolute wonder of a book, Percival Everett has done it again, following the exquisite Trees with this rewriting of Huck Finn, from the perspective of the slave Jim. I loved the use of language to highlight that the slaves weren't as stupid as the white owners (thought), as they had learned to play dumb so as not to upset them. The sense of adventure remains in the book, with much higher stakes, as every episode contains far more danger for Jim than Huck. The book never shies away from the horrors of slavery but you are willing Jim to find freedom for himself and his family, which kept me enthralled until the end. I read this book virtually in one sitting, unable to stop reading, such was the quality of the writing and the clever reframing of the story. It is important to have a more accurate reflection of life for Jim and Huck at that time in history, to do so with such flare, takes immense skill that should win prizes.