James

From the author of The Trees, shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and Erasure, adapted into the Oscar-winning film American Fiction.

'Truly extraordinary books are rare, and this is one of them' - Roddy Doyle, Booker Prize-winning author of Paddy Clarke, Ha Ha Ha

Enthralling and ferociously funny, James by Percival Everett is a profound meditation on identity, belonging and the sacrifices we make to protect the ones we love. It is also a bold reimagining of Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, as the enslaved Jim emerges to reclaim his voice and defy the conventions that have consigned him to the margins.

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 decides to hide on 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. Thus begins a dangerous and transcendent journey by raft 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.

With rumours of a brewing war, James must face the burden he carries: the family he is desperate to protect and the constant lie he must live. And together, the unlikely pair embark on the most dangerous, and life-changing, odyssey of them all . . .

'A captivating response to Mark Twain's 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

'James has the potential to become a classic . . . thrilling, bold and profound' - The Sunday Times

'This is the work of an American master at the peak of his powers' - Financial Times

'Funny and horrifying, brilliant and riveting . . . Who should read this book? Every single person in the country' - Ann Patchett, bestselling author of Tom Lake

Review: A captivating response to Mark Twain's 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
I'm demanding that you read Percival Everett's novel James, in which Everett takes the camera from Twain's 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
This is the work of an American master at the peak of his powers * Financial Times *
James has the potential to become a classic . . . thrilling, bold and profound * The Sunday Times *
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
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
Pure brilliance. Funny, wise, gracious; this may be Everett's best book yet -- Bonnie Garmus, bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry
Gripping, painful, funny, horrifying . . . a consummate performance to the last * The Observer *
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 *
Fantastically entertaining . . . James's solo adventures take on a life that doesn't so much rival the original [The Adventures of Huckelberry Finn] as defiantly stand alone * Daily Mail *
A sharp novel . . . You may think you know Huck Finn's story but this version breathes new life into it with unexpected twists and turns making it a must-read. * Daily Mirror *
Magnificent . . . [James] is Everett's most thrilling novel, but also his most soulful * The New York Times *
American literature's 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 Twain's classic through the looking glass. What emerges is no longer a children's 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 facade * 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 Twain's 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 you've picked up Everett's James, a retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, you'll know that only Everett could take on the task of allowing Mark Twain's 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, it's Everett. And that's exactly what he's 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 Twain's 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 *