![]() |
Now | 2025 | Previous | Articles | Road Essays | Road Reviews | Author | Black Authors | Title | Source | Age | Genre | Series | Format | Inclusivity | LGBTA+ | Art Portfolio | Purchase Art | WIP |
|
James: 07/07/24
James by Percival Everett (2024) is to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (1884) is to The Tragedy Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare (circa 1600) is to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard (1966) Put another way, the retelling is a way to examine the Black experience through the eyes of one of the few Black characters nearly American child is introduced to in school. Jim narrates the book this time with the scenes from Huckleberry Finn intersecting as Huck comes in and out of his life. Yes, they do still end up on the Mississippi, floating south. They run into the Duke and the Dauphin. But this isn't Huck's boyhood adventure / coming of age story; this is Jim's inner conflict. Jim's first person narration is written in well crafted, erudite English, instead of Twain's approximation of Huck's Missouri dialect. His dialog with characters code switches. All of the Black characters do — save for one for reasons that are explained as the novel unfolds. James has a similar feel and plot progression as The Journey of Little Charlie by Christopher Paul Curtis (2018) in that it's about a boy traveling with a formerly enslaved adult as he tries to reunite with his family and find freedom in the north. Five stars Comments (0) |