James by Percival Everett

 

My beloved Book Club read this book before it won the Pulitzer.  We are so ahead of the times!

Briefly, this is a retelling of sorts.  This time, we get Jim's perspective of his time with Huckleberry Finn.  And wowza, is that perspective different!

We had mixed reviews.  Some members found it hard to read.  The language, the treatment of slaves as less than human, the way the slaves found ways to survive and hope despite all of it.  My comments here are not really a review but more of a jumble of reactions!

Huck's recognition that slavery/ownership is wrong is a strong theme here - he is a cast off too in some ways, and knows from experience what it is like to be overlooked, beaten, and treated less than human.  The scene where Jim find's Huck's dad's body is heartbreaking  - Jim does his best to protect his young friend. 

Jim's written idea that only your peer can stand up for you - for your equality - made me stop and think that through.  You (a slave) cannot say that you're equal to them (whites) because in their eyes you are NOT equal to them.  So somebody else has to tell you or them that you are equal.   Also, this whole notion of the black code, where Jim changes his language, switches in front of white people to keep up white people's belief that slaves are uneducated and stupid. I listened to the audio version of this one, and the "switch" in front of white people really came out strong.  Something this white girl never thought about. To be black, and smart, were never two things that could both be true as far as the white people were concerned.  After all, that would make their slaves human.  

James, once rid of Huck, spends his time reading and worries that he'll be caught reading and writing.  And he says he reads so fast that his brain didn't have time to stop and think through what he had read.  Was he reading fast because he was afraid of being caught and didn't want to waste a moment?   

"With my pencil, I wrote myself into being."  As if he needed tangible proof that he indeed lived.  Otherwise, there would be no tangible evidence of his existence after he was gone.

James Faber - he got that name off the side of the pencil!!  But oh, that pencil was crazy expensive.  Poor young George.

"I ain't no N Word, but I is a slave."  Whoa.

A slave can be defined by a piece of paper, by law, but a N word is a slur, an insult, the worst derogatory that a black person can hear about himself.  What was really meant by N word in those days?  And did white people see a difference between the two terms?  Doubtful, and shameful.  Could a Freeman be an N word?

And, towards the end, that heartbreaking choice Jim must make.  A lot to talk about there!!

So, definitely a LOT to unpack here.  Brilliant and brave, even if the ending did stretch the imagination a bit and diverged from the original story.  If you liked The Kitchen House, this book is for you.  And I would say, this story is a good reminder of where we do NOT want to be ever again.