James by Percival Everett

 

This book lives up to the rave reviews and awards it won. It is a fantastic read that spotlights a secondary character from an American classic and makes him multidimensional with an interesting story. I recommend adding this book to any educational curriculum that includes Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to get the complete story.

The enslaved Jim hears he is to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separating him from his wife and daughter, hides on a nearby island to give himself time to figure out what to do next. Here he encounters the boy Huck Finn who, trying to escape his abusive father, has faked his death. Afraid he'll be suspected of killing Huck, the two team up and set out on a raft on the Mississippi River. Here is where Twain's and Everett's books go hand-in-glove to tell what happened to both characters on that trip.

This is a beautifully written and thought-provoking read. Everett does an expert job of taking a dark part of history and using it to focus on its effect on two individuals on different sides of the color line. Many of the encounters between Jim and members of the white race are horrifying, and although I'd like to think this type of racism is in our past, I sadly do not feel this is true. 

5/5 stars. 

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