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James is “a brilliant reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn—both harrowing and satirical—told from the enslaved Jim’s point of view.”

I have never read Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and neither had some of the people in my book club. We talked about how it would be great to go back and read it and compare both books.

“When Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he runs away until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck has faked his own death to escape his violent father. Brimming with nuanced humor and lacerating observations that have made Everett a literary icon, this brilliant and tender novel radically illuminates Jim’s agency, intelligence, and compassion as never before (Goodreads).”

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator, Dominic Hoffman really brought the story to life. I liked the conversational storytelling feel that he brought to the book.

The story does cover intense and very hard topics, but this is the kind of book that doesn’t let people forget what really happened during slavery. These kinds of stories need to be told and remembered.

I gave the book 3.75 stars. The ending felt rushed only because the first part of the book included so much detail. I think that if I had read Adventures of Huckleberry Finn I would’ve had more to compare and contrast, but it is a very good stand alone book and story by itself. I would definitely recommend it.