James

A Novel

De: Percival Everett

Narrado por: Dominic Hoffman

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • A brilliant, action-packed reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both harrowing and darkly humorous, told from the enslaved Jim's point of view

NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST • ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW'S 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE • KIRKUS PRIZE WINNER • A LOS ANGELES TIMES BEST FICTION BOOK OF THE LAST 30 YEARS

In development as a feature film to be produced by Steven Spielberg • A Best Book of the Year: The New York Times Book Review, LA Times, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Economist, TIME, and more.

"Genius"—The Atlantic • "A masterpiece that will help redefine one of the classics of American literature, while also being a major achievement on its own."—Chicago Tribune • "A provocative, enlightening literary work of art."—The Boston Globe • "Everett’s most thrilling novel, but also his most soulful."—The New York Times

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. As all readers/listeners of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond. 

Brimming with the electrifying 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. James is destined to be a major publishing event and a cornerstone of twenty-first century American literature.

©2024 Percival Everett (P)2024 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD AND THE KIRKUS PRIZE FOR FICTION | BARNES & NOBLE'S 2024 BOOK OF THE YEAR

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST, THE NEW YORKER, NPR, THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW, THE ECONOMIST, THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, AND VANITY FAIR, AMONG OTHERS...

“The cult favorite author’s electric new work. . . James completely reimagines one-half of Finn’s famous duo, elevating him from unwitting sidekick to reluctant hero. . . Everett brings that laser-sharp wit to James, creating a radical new American adventure.”—W Magazine

“James offers page-turning excitement but also off-kilter philosophical picaresque. . . Gripping, painful, funny, horrifying, this is multi-level entertainment, a consummate performance to the last."—The Guardian

“Blasted clean of Twain’s characterization, Jim emerges here as a man of great dignity, altruism, and intelligence. . . Clever, soulful, and full of righteous rage, [Jim’s] long-silenced voice resounds through this remarkable novel. Subversive and thrilling, James is destined to become a modern classic.”—Esquire

I will be forever changed by reading this book.

"James" is the story of the slave Jim in Huckleberry Finn as told by Jim. Percival Everett is a gifted storyteller and an excellent writer. Everett describes the life and emotions of a slave with clarity, poignancy and controlled rage as James desperately searches for his family and freedom. It is with wonder that after enduring such terrible treatment that any slave could hold to the hope that something better could be available, that freedom was a possibility. They had to have hope to survive and to attempt to escape bondage. I will be forever changed by this story of what was a gentle, self-educated man forced to hide and kill, never losing hope that he would find his wife and daughter and take them to freedom. This is an important book to be published at this time for it is long past time for Americans to come to grips with the horror of our history of slavery. We cannot regain our national soul until we do. We need to see slavery in all its savagery and acknowledge it so we can end racism for all time. The story of James may help us do this.

One of the best books I’ve ever read

I am not good at writing an eloquent review that will want to make you want to read a book. All I can say is this is everything I want in a book-a compelling story, a great narrator, and it changed me. One of the best books written in the past 50 years, imho.

Excellent and heartfelt

I loved this book and could hardly put it down. To me it spoke of the power love and endurance. I read Huckleberry Finn as a child but remember little about it, but I don’t think it was necessary for understanding and appreciating this story.

Painful yet gratifying.

Outstanding writing. It took me on an emotional ride at times hard to read but ultimately gratifying.

A masterpiece!

Telling and embellishing the mark twain masterpiece of American literature from the point of view of the slave Jim was a brave effort that succeeded beyond anything imaginable. Now I will have to re-read the original.

Delicious Twist on a Familiar Story

I relished hearing the story from the perspective of Jim, the unsung hero of Twain's novel. Stay tuned for a surprise or two toward the end.

Simply amazing

I recently re-read Huckleberry Finn in anticipation of James. I highly recommend doing this because it only adds to the genius of Everett’s work. As a black native of Hannibal Missouri I always saw Jim (James) as the hero. Mr. Everett brought that reality to life. This is a hilarious, thought provoking, literary masterpiece with enough twist and turns that will keep you captured and not able to stop listening.

Brilliant

A beautiful reader and gripping story. The only missing piece was in the singing. Spoken word songs worked though

A journey white people need to take

Like many other U.S. schoolchildren, I read "Huckleberry Finn" in grade school. I remember disliking it. Then, about 10 years ago, I visited Mark Twain's house in Connecticut and asked the guide if he were to recommend just one Mark Twain book, which would it be? And he answered "Huckleberry Finn" so I decided to read it again. I disliked it intensely. The whole thing with the Duke and the King I found boring and I cannot stand people being bullied, so the way Huck treated Jim--constantly tricking him and treating him like he was an idiot--not to mention the fact of Jim being ENSLAVED--was sickening.

So when I heard that one of my favorite contemporary authors was going to tackle a rewrite of the story from the point of view of Jim, I was wary but intrigued enough to pick it up, and I am so glad I did. It's an absolutely brilliant re-envisioning of what is going on beyond the understanding of the whites in the story. Everett imagines how enslaved people perceived their white owners and managed to stay alive despite the small and large cruelties visited upon them by vicious or just unconscious whites. He introduces many different Black characters, each with their own way of dealing with their enslavement, including some who "like being slaves." He demonstrates the ingenuity of the enslaved and their perseverence in seeking to fulfill their own hopes and dreams.

Most impressively, all of this is achieved while still keeping the reader in the vernacular and sensibilities of the era. Some other reviewers have criticized the book for inserting "modern ideas" into the mind of an enslaved person in the mid-1800s. I respectfully disagree. It might be uncomfortable for some to believe that Blacks at that time could have thought the way James does, but that is only because whites have been educated to believe that.

Check your prejudices at the door, and be ready to see through new eyes. This journey down the Mississippi is one everyone should take, but most especially white people.

[I listened to this as an audio book performed by Dominic Hoffman, who did an excellent job]

A Masterpiece

A story, though difficult at in the inhumanity of the times, must be read/listened to by everyone.