James, by Percival Everett

A famous literary character tells his own story. ​

It’s 1861 and Jim, an enslaved Black man in America’s deep south, finds out he’s to be sold. The news is terrifying. It means most likely he’ll end up with a sadistic owner fond of viciously beating his “property”, but worst of all, it means he will be forever separated from his wife Sadie and daughter Lizzie. His only hope is to find freedom in a northern state and make enough money to buy his wife and child. He promptly runs away, knowing all the time that capture would most certainly mean death, a grisly one, perhaps involving lynching. 

Jim’s young white friend, Huckleberry Finn, it turns out has run away too - he has a violent father - and the two take a raft and try to make their way to the northern states along the Mississippi River. They experience many adventures along the way - often terrifying for Jim, who cannot be seen in public without a white “owner”, a role Huckleberry occasionally fills. Often the scrapes Jim and Huck find themselves in are beyond surreal, like when Jim is asked to sing in a minstrel group. He must play a white man, pretending to be black. Finally Jim’s wanted status catches up with him, and in desperation he must use his wits to foment rebellion on a “breeding” farm - a place where enslaved Blacks are forced to reproduce. 

James is Percival Everett’s reimagining of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, this time from the enslaved Jim’s perspective. Indeed, the book is written in his highly engaging, idiosyncratic  voice. Language, we learn early on, is important. Jim speaks in two voices - an enslaved voice, one he puts on for whites. They expect stupidity, obedience and submissiveness. In this perverse masquerade, the enslaved must not appear intelligent or perceptive, as it would threaten the white status quo. Jim’s other voice is his real one, the one he uses with fellow enslaved Blacks, and in imaginary conversations with famous philosophers. In this real language, Jim prefers to be addressed by the more dignified “James”. Language shows how the enslaved must be careful with their words, maintaining the illusion of wilful subservience. But James can read and write, skills he must keep secret.

Percival Everett has managed to create both an entertaining and instructive novel about the brutality and depravity of the slave trade in 19th century America. He cleverly balances comic episodes and delusional white characters against a background of  brutal racism and pervasive violence. A brilliant accomplishment. 

James, by Percival Everett. Published by Mantle. $34.99

JUN24