A Waterstones Fiction Book of the Month, James is the brilliant and powerful story of Jim, the enslaved man at the heart of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Everett breathes new life into the character, giving him voice, agency, and an emotional depth that is deeply moving. The writing is sharp and often darkly funny. It’s one of those novels that stays with you long after you’ve finished it. I loved it.

James by Percival Everett is a book with a difference, it is the adventures of James, the slave and Huck Finn, who are both running away and running towards their life changing adventure. The Mississippi River 1861 is where the adventure starts, as they go on a dangerous and transcendent journey, towards the elusive promise of the free states and beyond. James is determined to be free and find his wife and daughter, so that they may all live freely together. A deeply profound story, at times funny, other times sad with a use of the English language that lifts the novel onto another level. Highly recommended.

On its surface, James is a compelling escape story, a retelling of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn through the eyes of the slave Jim. It’s a window into the human soul, navigating the complexity of the human condition and the tragedy of existing in the world as a slave. Yet, the story examines how one can empower oneself through the act of reading and writing. Jim, our protagonist, does exactly this. Nobody can strip from him what he takes from the words written on the page, nobody can take away that power, even though they take everything else from him. This is a beautiful, tragic, hopeful, powerful and, ultimately, human story about a journey a man named James embarks on to save his family in search of freedom from slavery and those who sacrifice their own freedom for him along the way. It is the best book I have read this year and one I will be thinking about for a long, long time. I am in awe of what Percival Everett has achieved yet again. He is an exceptional writer and storyteller and my favourite living writer today. The words I have written here do not do this book justice. It simply must be experienced.

James by Percival Everett I first read Huckleberry Finn when I was 12 years old. It was our class reader - red, tatty and with countless other pupils names crossed out inside the front cover. My enduring memory was one of a rousing adventure around The Mississippi River. Now, over 40 years later, reacquainted with Huck and slave Jim, is an opportunity to relive some of those adventures seen through Jim’s eyes. I’m not sure if it is this new interpretation, my advancing age or whether my recollection is clouded by the passing of so many years, but the adventure, although much in evidence, is greatly overshadowed by the despicable racism and unbearable cruelty of slave era America. Jim, now James is able to show us, the readers, his bravery and intellect, instead of hiding it from the white folks of the story. This is a magnificently paced, beautifully written novel.It is also a reminder that the value of human life in monetary terms is an abomination; of the wretchedness and absurdity of intolerance. One of the books of the year. #docs.reading.room

What a book! I literally could not put this book down. With mountains of pace, an emotional rollercoaster of horrors and some wonderful, unforgettable moments, this book should be read by all. The story of James and Huck will stay with me forever.