JAMES BY PERCIVAL EVERETT

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BOOK NAME: JAMES

AUTHOR NAME: PERCIVAL EVERETT

GENRE: HISTORICAL/ LITERARY FICTION

PUBLISHER: PANMACMILLAN 

BOOK BUY LINK: https://www.amazon.in/James-Novel-Percival-Everett/dp/0385550367



BOOK COVER IMAGE




BOOK REVIEW

If nostalgia ever had a face, it would look exactly like this book. This retelling of one of the earliest and finest classics I have read - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain - has managed to keep the essence of the original work intact throughout. Though I don't essentially remember the events exactly from the original book, I could place the characters and places precisely from my remote memory.


Unlike the original work, the protagonist and narrator of this book is the runaway slave, Jim, who calls himself James. James and Huck meet on an estranged island as the latter is trying to escape his abusive father after faking his own death. James, who was born a slave and has been traded more than twice, will bear no more of it as it risks him being torn apart from his family. He must leave his town and later return for them, who stayed behind. However, they face challenges throughout their journey, making it arduous and terrible.


For me, this is one of the best-rewritten books that maintains the core of the story told through a different perspective. It is harrowing yet funny, and the themes are heavy, like slavery, rape, domestic abuse, racial discrimination, physical violence, racial slur and more. It's about the rise of the victims against their perpetrators, which speaks of their courage and power.


The pace is surprisingly fast, which made me devour it in a day. The tension builds up until the end, making it hard for the reader to put it down. I am sure this book would make Mark Twain proud and happy if he were to read it because the narrator's wit, honesty, humour, and courage are similar to what the former had written. 


I can't believe I am saying this, but this book elevated Huck's character and held everyone responsible for their white privilege without being easy on certain characters. I feel like quoting a few lines here, but then I realise the list would just go on forever. I have found myself a new favourite author and possibly the top book of the best ones that I have read this year.


You don’t have to read the original version to pick this one because it’s good on its own as such. I picked this book because I learnt it was the retelling of the classic I once loved and also because it was long-listed for the Booker Prize this year. Now, I can only see this one winning from the lot. How can I be so confident without even reading the other books? Maybe the others are good or even better, but none of them is James by Percival Everett.  


MY REVIEW: 5/5

This is a part of #Blogchatterhalfmarathon and #TBRchallenge

#penbooksandscalpel

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