James: The Bestselling, Award-Winning Literary Sensation

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Shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2024 'Truly extraordinary books are rare, and this is one of them' - Roddy Doyle, Booker Prize-winning author of Paddy Clarke, Ha Ha Ha James by Percival Everett is a profound and ferociously funny reimagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, told from the perspective of the enslaved Jim. From the author of The Trees, shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and Erasure, adapted into the Oscar-winning film American Fiction. The Mississippi River, 1861. When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a new owner in New Orleans and separated from his wife and daughter forever, he flees to nearby Jackson's Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father who recently returned to town. So begins a dangerous and transcendent journey along the Mississippi River, towards the elusive promise of the free states and beyond. As James and Huck navigate the treacherous waters, each bend in the river holds the promise of both salvation and demise. And together, the unlikely pair embark on the most life-changing odyssey of them all . . . 'Who should read this book Every single person in the country' - Ann Patchett, bestselling author of Tom Lake 'James has the potential to become a classic . . . Thrilling, bold and profound' - The Sunday Times 'Funny, wise, gracious; this may be Everett's best book yet' - Bonnie Garmus, bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry 'Magnificent . . . Everett's most thrilling novel, but also his most soulful ' - The New York Times

Reviews

A captivating response to Mark Twains classic that is both a bold exploration of a dark chapter in history and a testament to the resilience of the human spirit -- The 2024 Booker Prize Judges
Im demanding that you read Percival Everetts novel James, in which Everett takes the camera from Twains Huck Finn and hands it to the slave, Jim. Truly extraordinary books are rare, and this is one of them -- Roddy Doyle, Booker Prize-winning author of Paddy Clarke, Ha Ha Ha
James is funny and horrifying, brilliant and riveting. In telling the story of Jim instead of Huckleberry Finn, Percival Everett delivers a powerful, necessary corrective to both literature and history. I found myself cheering both the writer and his hero. Who should read this book Every single person in the country -- Ann Patchett, bestselling author of Tom Lake
Pure brilliance. Funny, wise, gracious; this may be Everett's best book yet -- Bonnie Garmus, bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry
Percival Everett is a giant of American letters, and James is a canon-shatteringly great book. Unforgiving and compassionate, beautiful and brutal, a tragedy and a farce, this brilliant novel rewrites literary history to let us hear the voices it has long suppressed -- Hernan Diaz, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Trust
My favourite novel this year was James by Percival Everett. By giving the runaway Jim from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn his own voice (or voices) and his dignity James, not Jim he adds a dimension thats missing from the original, and, I think, improves on it -- Salman Rushdie, The Observer, 'Books of the Year'
Scorchingly funny . . . A significant and exhilarating corrective to history, told in the most compelling of voices -- The Sunday Times, 'Books of the Year'
Playful and viciously comic . . . James might be the book of the year and ought to have won the Booker Prize -- The Daily Telegraph, 'Books of the Year'
Percival Everetts magisterial satire James [is] an essential rewrite of Mark Twains Huckleberry Finn -- The Guardian, 'Books of the Year;
One of the novels of the year . . . [It] is both true to the original and turns it entirely on its head. Crackling with insight and wit -- Daily Mail, 'Books of the Year'
You will never think of Mark Twain's seminal 19th-century novel in the same way again, as Everett's version is subversive, clever and exciting, while also being a rollicking good read -- i newspaper, 'Books of the Year'
James by Percival Everett [is] such a brilliant retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the point of view of the enslaved Jim, resisting and rebelling against underestimation and oppression. A wise and profound book and funny too -- Kit de Waal,The Observer, 'Books of the Year'
James by Percival Everett is more than a retelling of a classic; it is a reclamation, somehow a homage and a rebuke a retelling that centres a man we only previously accessed through the lens of a child. It is a wry, wise, funny and touching book that I would gift to strangers on the street if I could -- Attica Locke,The Observer, 'Books of the Year'
Funny, moving, beautifully written, Percival Everetts retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a brave thing to do but Everett is a fitting match for Mark Twain -- Margaret MacMillan, New Statesman, 'Books of the Year'
Original, funny, quirky and serious without being solemn -- The Spectator, 'Books of the Year'
Choosing the best book of the year is usually a test . . . But this year Percival Everetts James . . . is so dazzling that it deserves wide appreciation and acknowledgement . . . [It] will surely become a classic to be read alongside Twain -- Elaine Showalter, TLS, 'Books of the Year'
Gripping, painful, funny, horrifying . . . a consummate performance to the last * The Observer *
This is the work of an American master at the peak of his powers * Financial Times *
Both a page-turner and a profound meditation on the ramifications of slavery and self-hood . . . Luminous * TLS *
A classic novel overhauled by a modern master * The Daily Telegraph *
Percival Everett is an essential writer and James may be his greatest novel yet * i *
A sharp novel . . . You may think you know Huck Finns story but this version breathes new life into it with unexpected twists and turns making it a must-read * Daily Mirror *
Majestic . . . [James] is Everetts most thrilling novel, but also his most soulful * The New York Times *
American literatures philosopher king and its sharpest satirist * The New Yorker *
[An] ingenious retelling of The Adverntures of Huckleberry Finn . . . Everett has outdone himself -- Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
The audacious and prolific Everett dives into the very heart of Twain's epochal odyssey -- Kirkus (Starred Review)
An absolutely essential read -- Booklist (Starred Review)
Clever, soulful, and full of righteous rage . . . James is destined to become a modern classic * Esquire.com *
To call James a retelling would be an injustice. Everett sends Mark Twains classic through the looking glass. What emerges is no longer a childrens book, but a blood-soaked historical novel stripped of all ornament . . . Genius * The Atlantic *
[A] careful and thought-provoking auditing of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn . . . broadening our understanding of an endangered classic by bringing out the tragedy behind the comic faade * The Wall Street Journal *
In a fever dream of a retelling, the new reigning king of satire, Percival Everett, has turned one of America's best loved classics, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, upside down . . . a startling homage and a new classic in its own right * NPR.org *
Heir to Mark Twains satirical vision, Everett turns a boyhood memoir into a neo-fugitive slave narrative thriller . . . a provocative, enlightening work of literary art * The Boston Globe *
[A] sly response to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn . . . James both honors and interrogates Huck Finn, along with the nation that reveres it * The Washington Post *
Once youve picked up Everetts James, a retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, youll know that only Everett could take on the task of allowing Mark Twains character Jim to show what was missing from the original story * The Los Angeles Times *
Audacious. . . Everett [gives] Jim who, we learn, prefers to be called James his agency, letting his intelligence and compassion shine through * Time *
[Percival Everett is a] prolific genius . . . If anyone is poised to casually write a masterpiece that not only becomes instant canon but also sets a brush fire to the current ones it stands upon, its Everett. And thats exactly what hes done with James * Elle *
Everett's latest dazzling novel is a supplement and a rebuke, a corrective and a celebration of Mark Twain's [The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn] * Scotland on Sunday *
[James] abounds in satire and irony . . . Like Kafka, [Percival Everett] is capable at once of being scarily funny and chillingly serious * The Herald *
By recasting Twains flawed classic as a portrait of an enslaved man in all the fullness of his courage, humanity and humour Everett leaves a meaningful mark on American letters * The Irish Times *
The wit of the writing and the fascinating examination into the freeing power of language preserves the charm and action-packed adventure of [The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn], while cleverly and at times harrowingly deconstructing its flaws * Irish Mail on Sunday *
James is a masterful reimagining of Mark Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn . . . [Percival Everett] has written a classic -- Nicola Sturgeon, New Statesman, 'Books of the Year'
James, Percival Everetts reimagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, was the pick of the Booker list a nerveless triumph of tone -- Andrew Marr, New Statesman, 'Books of the Year'
Impudent and satirical, Everett demands courageous open-mindedness from his readers -- Terri Apter, TLS, 'Books of the Year'
Devastating . . . [James's] fearsome transformation is marked not only in the title, but also in [the novel's] final words -- Leo Lensing, TLS, 'Books of the Year'

Author Bio

Percival Everett is the author of over thirty books, including So Much Blue, Telephone, Dr. No and The Trees, which was shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize and won the 2022 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize. He has received the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award and the PEN Center USA Award for Fiction, has been a Pulitzer Prize finalist, and is Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Southern California. His novel Erasure has been adapted into the Oscar-winning film American Fiction. He lives in Los Angeles.