*TRIGGER WARNING AT THE BOTTOM

Worth the hype, and I’m very glad I read this. Though this review is short, it’s not because I didn’t love the book, but because I have so many thoughts, and I will not presume to articulate them well.

This was the October pick for Books and Bars.

“James” is a retelling of “Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain through the perspective of Jim James. While part I of “James” more or less follows the storyline of “Huckleberry Finn,” but by part II it branches off into its own book, taking on a darker, more sickening, more horrific, and more wrathful story.

I’ve never read any Mark Twain. I think by the time it would have been required reading for me (mid-2000s), it had stopped moving through the high school curriculum. Both before, while and after reading this book, I reviewed the synopsis for “HW” to follow where it differed, but even in the synopsis, I thought the story demeaning and “white savior-y” (but please keep in mind I have not read “HW” so this is a very narrow opinion). I thought about whether I should read “HW” but I’d like to think of Jim James through Percival Everett’s perspective: a man of agency and pride who loves his family and the written word.

This is a very fast read and probably my second favorite Books and Bars read this year (after “Horse” by Geraldine Brooks, which I feel conflicted about enjoying more).

SPOILER ALERT

Hot take: I’m not convinced that James is actually Huck’s father