James by Percival Everett

JAMES by Percival Everett is a retelling of the story of Huck Finn by James himself. Brilliant and revelatory, we see the life of James through his own eyes – eyes not shaded by prejudice or power.

James runs away when he hears that he is about to be sold, determined to return for his wife and daughter once the danger has passed. He runs into Huck, who has faked his own death after being beaten by his father, and as in the original story, they build a raft and sail down river to escape the men looking for them. Some events of the original story remain – the raft, the river, the encounters with the conmen the Duke and the King, but others are replaced by scenes that reveal James’s cunning and intelligence. James is a reader and sneaks into Judge Thurber’s library to read Rosseau and Voltaire. He can write and begins recording his life story with a stolen pencil stub. Before running away, there is an ingenious scene where James is teaching the children of slaves how to speak in a way that won’t intimidate their white masters – putting all their language through a “slave filter” so their intelligence will stay under the radar of the whites. During these sessions he emphasizes that “the better they feel, the safer we are” which he has one of his fledglings translate to “da mo’bettah day feels, da mo safer we be.”

Percival Everett elevates Twain’s story to a story that reveals the lived history of slaves. He empowers James with intelligence and language and agency. James is a hero who saves his wife and child and countless other slaves. A must read.
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