Last Tuesday, we met at Doug’s to discuss James by
Percival Everett. The novel is a bold retelling of Mark Twain’s classic Adventures
of Huckleberry Finn, this time from the perspective of Jim, the
enslaved Black man who, in Twain’s original, serves primarily as a foil to
Huck. Everett reimagines Jim as a thoughtful, educated protagonist—a literal
father figure to Huck—who has secretly taught himself to read by accessing
books in the local judge’s library. He hides his intellect and command of
proper English from the white world of pre–Civil War Missouri, revealing his
true self only to other enslaved people. This premise allows Jim to steer the
decisions he and Huck make on their journey down the Mississippi, while also
delving into racial themes Twain avoided, such as blackface minstrelsy, racial
“passing,” and the hanging of a slave for stealing a pencil.
Doug hosted and served a delicious dinner of salmon, potatoes, and
vegetables. He recommended James both for its literary
merit and its fast-paced, adventure-filled narrative. Doug especially
appreciated Everett’s sharp ear for the absurd, and like several others, reread
Huckleberry Finn as a companion piece. He noted that
Everett moved the timeline roughly 20 years closer to the Civil War,
intensifying the racial tensions that shape Jim’s experience. Doug preferred James
over Everett’s Erasure, which MBC read last
year.
Jack was glad the group read James. He felt Everett
cleverly turned the Twain narrative on its head by having Jim use proper
English. He enjoyed the straightforward storytelling but found the Voltaire
references a bit over the top.
Dan powered through the book, finishing it just in time. He drew several
movie parallels, questioning the realism of the boiler room explosion and Jim’s
flawless English. The reveal that Huck is Jim’s son reminded Dan of the iconic Star
Wars moment between Luke and Darth Vader. He also compared the
twist about Jim’s hidden eloquence to the surprise in Planet
of the Apes when the apes speak.
Tom had recently returned from a 600-mile cruise down the Mississippi, where he
read both James and Huckleberry
Finn. He tried to envision Jim and Huck on the river, but noted
that modern channeling near New Orleans limits the river’s wildness. He enjoyed
James as a thoughtful counterpoint to Twain’s novel,
praising its writing, length, and Everett’s imaginative take on Jim’s journey.
Terry enjoyed the adventure and valued the reminder of America’s history of
slavery. However, he questioned Everett’s decision to portray Jim as
“culturally advanced” only through his embrace of Western ideals. Terry
wondered why Jim's sophistication and intellect had to be demonstrated though a mastery of white language and philosophy, and whether Everett was simply submitting Jim to the dominant culture rather than distinguishing him from it.
Dean felt the novel started slowly but gained traction once the river
journey began. He found the depiction of slavery’s brutality powerful and drew
comparisons between Jim and Walter White from Breaking Bad—both
men who reach a breaking point and transform. Dean was grateful to Doug for
choosing the book.
Glenn also loved the book. Having grown up Jewish, he saw parallels between
Oney (the light-skinned minstrel character) and Huck (who learns he is
biracial) in their need to “pass” as white—similar to how some Jews passed as
Aryan in Nazi Germany to survive.
Andrew appreciated the book and was particularly interested in Jim’s
“code-switching” and how Everett flips the expected model: Jim
speaks proper English only to other slaves and adopts a slave dialect when
addressing whites. Focusing on the boiler room scene, Andrew raised questions
about free will and Everett's portrayal of the slave so devoid of agency he's willing to go down with the ship—an impulse conditioned by generations of servitude.
Larry liked the book, especially the shift in focus from Huck to Jim.
However, he ranked Erasure higher due to its
self-aware protagonist. Larry drew a poignant connection between Jim’s fear as
a fugitive slave and the experiences of undocumented immigrants today—living
with the constant anxiety of being detained and separated from family.
Paul found James compelling and centered
his thoughts on the power of language. He emphasized how speech shapes identity
and perception, and how reading transformed Jim into someone wiser than those
around him. After rereading Huckleberry Finn, Paul
concluded that while Everett wraps up James
effectively, Twain (née Clemens) delivered a stronger ending in his original
work.
Overall, MBC rated James in a
solid 7–8 range. The book sparked a lively and honest discussion about
America’s ongoing reckoning with its history of oppression—whether based on
race, origin, or class. James reminds us that behind
every face is a deeply human story, and that our first impressions are often
misleading when filtered through ingrained categories or biases.
We’ll miss Doug’s
gracious presence and the rare privilege of meeting in the house that helped inspire singer/songwriter Al Stewart, memorable for his iconic Year of the Cat.
