James by Percival EverettMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This historical novel follows Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, but through the eyes of Jim, the runaway slave. In this story, Jim taught himself to read and write and is quite the intellectual. Revisionist? Perhaps, but that’s another matter.
I would strongly encourage readers to try the audiobook of this story, narrated by Dominic Hoffman. Instead of trying to decipher the written “slave talk,” listen to Hoffman speak it. His reading is excellent.
The book, set along the Mississippi River in 1861, inherently covers plenty of (non-gory) violence, brutal oppression, and pain, but it also includes love and hope. The writing is uncomplicated and the narrative flows very well.
View all my reviews