Overview

LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2024! Selected as one of the top 12 reads of 2024 by The Times and Sunday Times 'Percival Everett is a giant of American letters, and James is a canon-shatteringly great book' - Hernan Diaz, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Trust 'Who should read this book? Every single person in the country' - Ann Patchett, bestselling author of Tom Lake An enthralling and ferociously funny reimagining of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, told from the perspective of the enslaved Jim. Written by Booker Prize-shortlisted Percival Everett, his novel Erasure is now released as the critically acclaimed and Oscar-winning film American Fiction, and James is set to be the literary event of 2024. 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, towards the elusive promise of the 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.

Full Product Details

9781035031238

Table of Contents

Reviews

Percival Everett is a giant of American letters, and JAMES is a canon-shatteringly great book. Unforgiving and compassionate, beautiful and brutal, a tragedy and a farce, this brilliant novel rewrites literary history to let us hear the voices it has long suppressed -- Hernan Diaz, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of <i>Trust</i> JAMES is funny and horrifying, brilliant and riveting. In telling the story of Jim instead of Huckleberry Finn, Percival Everett delivers a powerful, necessary corrective to both literature and history. I found myself cheering both the writer and his hero. Who should read this book? Every single person in the country -- Ann Patchett, bestselling author of <i>Tom Lake</i> Pure brilliance. Funny, wise, gracious; this may be Everett's best book yet -- Bonnie Garmus, bestselling author of <i>Lessons in Chemistry</i> A scorchingly funny, action-packed reworking of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn -- <i>The Sunday Times</i>, 'The 40 best books of 2024' [A] rambunctious, perspective-altering book, keeping the adventurous spirit of [The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn] but full of contemporary resonances -- <i>Guardian</i> 'Fiction to look out for in 2024' An audacious re-writing . . . delivers a story bristling with atmosphere, sadness and sly wit -- <i>Financial Times</i> 'What to read in 2024' [Percival Everett] has quietly been producing excellent novels for four decades, with 2021's The Trees shortlisted for the Booker Prize, but [JAMES] might be his most anticipated yet -- <i>BBC Culture</i>, '45 of 2024's most anticipated books' [Percival Everett] is very funny; he's got a comic vision of the world, tethered to an interest in serious stuff, particularly race in America . . . The comedy lowers the reader's defenses & lets other things in -- John Self * BBC Radio 4 Open Book * Percival Everett is an audacious, beguiling American master, whose wild trajectory has reached astonishing highs in the past decade. Now comes JAMES, which enlists and devours not only Mark Twain’s novel but aspects of Melville, Ellison, and even Kafka to make an irrevocable invention into the canon. Everett is simply playing this game at a higher level, and it is the most serious game imaginable -- Jonathan Lethem, author of <i>Motherless Brooklyn</i> This is a brilliant, accessible, and very necessary companion to Huckleberry Finn -- Dave Eggers, bestselling author of <i>The Circle</i> 2024 . . . might be the year of Percival Everett . . . [JAMES is a] systematic and forensic and laugh-out-loud-funny deconstruction of America and race * Scotsman * If you liked Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver, read JAMES, by Percival Everett * Washington Post * [An] ingenious retelling of The Adverntures of Huckleberry Finn . . . Everett has outdone himself -- <i>Publishers Weekly</i> (Starred Review) One of the noblest characters in American literature gets a novel worthy of him -- <i>Kirkus Reviews</i> (Starred Review) An absolutely essential read -- <i>Booklist</i> (Starred Review)

A captivating response to Mark Twain’s classic that is both a bold exploration of a dark chapter in history and a testament to the resilience of the human spirit -- The 2024 Booker Prize Judges I’m demanding that you read Percival Everett’s novel James, in which Everett takes the camera from Twain’s Huck Finn and hands it to the slave, Jim. Truly extraordinary books are rare, and this is one of them -- Roddy Doyle, Booker Prize-winning author of <i>Paddy Clarke, Ha Ha Ha</i> This is the work of an American master at the peak of his powers * Financial Times * James has the potential to become a classic . . . thrilling, bold and profound * The Sunday Times * James is funny and horrifying, brilliant and riveting. In telling the story of Jim instead of Huckleberry Finn, Percival Everett delivers a powerful, necessary corrective to both literature and history. I found myself cheering both the writer and his hero. Who should read this book? Every single person in the country -- Ann Patchett, bestselling author of <i>Tom Lake</i> Percival Everett is a giant of American letters, and James is a canon-shatteringly great book. Unforgiving and compassionate, beautiful and brutal, a tragedy and a farce, this brilliant novel rewrites literary history to let us hear the voices it has long suppressed -- Hernan Diaz, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of <i>Trust</i> Pure brilliance. Funny, wise, gracious; this may be Everett's best book yet -- Bonnie Garmus, bestselling author of <i>Lessons in Chemistry</i> Gripping, painful, funny, horrifying . . . a consummate performance to the last * The Observer * Both a page-turner and a profound meditation on the ramifications of slavery and self-hood . . . Luminous * TLS * A classic novel overhauled by a modern master * The Daily Telegraph * Percival Everett is an essential writer and James may be his greatest novel yet * i * Fantastically entertaining . . . James’s solo adventures take on a life that doesn’t so much rival the original [The Adventures of Huckelberry Finn] as defiantly stand alone * Daily Mail * A sharp novel . . . You may think you know Huck Finn’s story but this version breathes new life into it with unexpected twists and turns making it a must-read. * Daily Mirror * Majestic . . . [James] is Everett’s most thrilling novel, but also his most soulful * The New York Times * American literature’s philosopher king — and its sharpest satirist * The New Yorker * [An] ingenious retelling of The Adverntures of Huckleberry Finn . . . Everett has outdone himself -- <i>Publishers Weekly</i> (Starred Review) The audacious and prolific Everett dives into the very heart of Twain's epochal odyssey -- <i>Kirkus </i> (Starred Review) An absolutely essential read -- <i>Booklist</i> (Starred Review) Clever, soulful, and full of righteous rage . . . James is destined to become a modern classic * Esquire.com * To call James a retelling would be an injustice. Everett sends Mark Twain’s classic through the looking glass. What emerges is no longer a children’s book, but a blood-soaked historical novel stripped of all ornament . . . Genius * The Atlantic * ‘[A] careful and thought-provoking auditing of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn . . . broadening our understanding of an endangered classic by bringing out the tragedy behind the comic façade * The Wall Street Journal * In a fever dream of a retelling, the new reigning king of satire, Percival Everett, has turned one of America's best loved classics, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, upside down . . . a startling homage and a new classic in its own right * NPR.org * Heir to Mark Twain’s satirical vision, Everett turns a boyhood memoir into a neo-fugitive slave narrative thriller . . . a provocative, enlightening work of literary art * The Boston Globe * [A] sly response to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn . . . James both honors and interrogates Huck Finn, along with the nation that reveres it * The Washington Post * Once you’ve picked up Everett’s James, a retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, you’ll know that only Everett could take on the task of allowing Mark Twain’s character Jim to show what was missing from the original story * The Los Angeles Times * Audacious. . . Everett [gives] Jim – who, we learn, prefers to be called James – his agency, letting his intelligence and compassion shine through * Time * [Percival Everett is a] prolific genius . . . If anyone is poised to casually write a masterpiece that not only becomes instant canon but also sets a brush fire to the current ones it stands upon, it’s Everett. And that’s exactly what he’s done with James * Elle * Everett's latest dazzling novel is a supplement and a rebuke, a corrective and a celebration of Mark Twain's [The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn] * Scotland on Sunday * [James] abounds in satire and irony . . . Like Kafka, [Percival Everett] is capable at once of being scarily funny and chillingly serious * The Herald * By recasting Twain’s flawed classic as a portrait of an enslaved man – in all the fullness of his courage, humanity and humour – Everett leaves a meaningful mark on American letters * The Irish Times * The wit of the writing and the fascinating examination into the freeing power of language preserves the charm and action-packed adventure of [The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn], while cleverly – and at times harrowingly – deconstructing its flaws * Irish Mail on Sunday *

The unsung Jonathan Swift of modern American fiction. * The Times * One of the most inimitable and distinct voices in contemporary American fiction. * The Washington Post *

The unsung Jonathan Swift of modern American fiction. * The Times * One of the most inimitable and distinct voices in contemporary American fiction. * Washington Post * Everett has mastered the movement between unspeakable terror and knock out comedy * New York Times * There’s nobody else quite like him, with his mash of ideas, chaos, satire and frivolity * Financial Times *

The unsung Jonathan Swift of modern American fiction * The Times * It's about time this extraordinary American writer got some credit this side of the Pond -- <i>Sunday Times</i> on <i>The Trees</i> A powerful wake-up call, as well as an act of literary restitution -- <i>Guardian</i> on <i>The Trees</i> Satire in the great tradition of Swift by way of South Park -- <i>Daily Telegraph</i> on <i>The Trees</i> There’s nobody else quite like him, with his mash of ideas, chaos, satire and frivolity -- <i>Financial Times</i> on <i>Dr No</i> Clever, funny and mercilessly satirical. -- <i>The Times</i> on <i>Dr No</i> One of the most inimitable and distinct voices in contemporary American fiction * Washington Post * Everett has mastered the movement between unspeakable terror and knock out comedy * New York Times *

Author Information

Percival Everett is the author of over thirty published works, including Zulus, Erasure, I Am Not Sidney Poitier, Assumption, Percival Everett by Virgil Russell, Telephone, The Trees, Dr. No and James. A Guggenheim Fellow and Pulitzer Prize Finalist, Everett has won the PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award, the Academy Award in Literature, the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction, and the Windham-Campbell Literature Prize for Fiction. In 2022, The Trees was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Percival Everett lives in Los Angeles, CA, where he is Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Southern California.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available