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James (Pulitzer Prize Winner)

by Percival Everett Publisher: DOUBLEDAY & CO

Award Winner Critically Recognized

A familiar river journey seen through Jim’s eyes

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Hardcover New English

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Awards & Recognition

  • Award recognition

    Kirkus Prize winner

    The supplied description identifies James as a Kirkus Prize winner.

  • Bestseller

    #1 New York Times bestseller

    The supplied description calls James a #1 New York Times bestseller.

  • Editorial selection

    New York Times Book Review 10 Best Books of the Year

    Included among the publication's 10 Best Books of the Year.

AlbakiReads Editorial

A familiar river journey seen through Jim’s eyes

Percival Everett revisits the world of *Adventures of Huckleberry Finn* by shifting the narrative focus to Jim, an enslaved man making plans to avoid being sold away from his family. His flight intersects with Huck’s escape from his violent father, bringing the two onto a raft journey down the Mississippi toward the uncertain prospect of freedom. That change in viewpoint places Jim’s choices, intelligence, and compassion at the center of a story rooted in American slavery and a classic of American literature. The novel also carries dark humor alongside its account of danger, separation, and the limits of the freedom promised beyond the river.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Adults interested in historical fiction about slavery and the pursuit of freedom.
  • Readers curious about literary reimaginings of *Adventures of Huckleberry Finn*.
  • Readers interested in stories that shift the perspective of a familiar classic character.

Themes

Slavery and freedomFamily separationAgency and perspectiveAmerican literary history

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

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 - In development as a feature film to be produced by Steven Spielberg

KIRKUS PRIZE WINNER - NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST - SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE - 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 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.
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Customer reviews

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AlbakiReads
Malaika Taylor

I highly recommend to for anyone looking for inner clarity

T
AlbakiReads
Thomas DiMassa

Great service and fast service

Great shopping experience! The book arrived quickly, was well packaged, and matched the description perfectly. I would definitely shop with you again

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Olivia

Smooth.