Review

WOW!! One of the very few best novels I have read in the last decade. If you do not know Huckleberry Finn (but you should, as it is arguably "the great American novel"), James is still wonderful standing alone in its own space. It has engaging characters, fascinating plot developments, and even if it is a cliche, it has "heart." Its two protagonists both have strong moral cores--though they themselves may not be fully aware of just how ethical they really are. And there are themes and events that will surely surprise you--yet they seem so natural as to be almost foreordained. If you know Huckleberry Finn, then this new book is even more, even better. James is informed, illuminating, intelligent, and indeed, inspiring! There are portions and events that I will remember for a long, long time. The novel is American history; it is our history--inescapable, dark, and ultimately revealing. Some things are recounted that could/should make any reader cringe, but sadly, they seem natural, realistic and understandable. James himself muses on numerous insights and profound observations: "I was as much scared as angry, but where does a slave put anger." James goes on: "If one knows hell as home, then is returning hell a homecoming?" Here, the Mississippi River itself is central to the novel, both as a foundation, and in fact, as a protagonist it its own right. So too language and diction have a fascinating, and vital and significant, presence in James. Percival Everett uses Mark Twain's novel as a starting point, and then his book simply takes off. James has variations, new scenarios and startlingly original developments--all of which are enthralling. There is a minstrel troupe that will amaze you in its originality; and it will offer a provocative new perspective. As we read about freedom and slavery, and the South as it used to be, a reader cannot help but to shudder--and marvel at the author's mastery. Huck and Jim talk: Huck asks James if his (Huck's) mother was pretty; James says he doesn't know; Huck then asks if the Mississippi is pretty and James says he reckons so. "Then why can't you say if my mama was pretty? And James replies: River ain't a white woman." And one more out of many: James muses: "White people often spend time admiring their survival of one thing or another. I imagined it was because so often they had no need to survive, but only to live." Reading and giving yourself to James is living large!! Simply stated, you should--or rather, you must--read this astonishing captivating important novel!!!

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