The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn x Mark Twain
Fiction, 327 Pages, 1884
James x Percival Everett
Fiction, 303 Pages, 2024
Sean Kingston and Jojo. Katy Perry and The Shackletons. Bruno Mars and Miley Cyrus. Camera Obscura and Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. The music world is full of artistic call and response.
My local book club’s January pick was its own call and response, this time in literary form: Percival Everett’s James, a retelling of Mark Twain’s classic The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of - you guessed it - James. Having seen an interview with Everett about the book, I was excited by the selection, but also because of said interview, I knew it was time to pick up my first Twain.
I was surprised how much I enjoyed the The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (THAF). I laughed, which was not something I expected from the very little I knew about the book before going in (I have since learned it is actually a sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer). I liked the writing style, narrative structure, and overall pacing. Upon further inspection, it seems Twain inspired Hemingway, who inspired Didion, so I guess it adds up.
The majority of classics I’ve read were for school, where they were often wrung out for symbolism or hidden meaning. As such, there aren’t many classics I’d like to see retold and I’m usually of the mindset that we should create new classics instead of rewriting the old.
Reading TAHF made me understand why Everett felt a calling to retell the story from James’ point of view. James is a beautifully executed piece of fiction, with the two books complementing each other like gin and tonic, in a way better together than apart. If I had to pick, I preferred James, but reading TAHF gave me the context and background to fully appreciate the impressive work that is James.
I pointed my pistol at him. “I am the angel of death, come to offer sweet justice in the night,” I said. “I am a sign. I am your future. I am James.