James : Shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2024

Emily says about James:
"I’m not sure I’ve ever read a book quite like James! Given that it is a retelling I probably should have read Huckleberry Finn before picking this one up but I also appreciated reading it as a standalone story. Percival Everett writes with amazing clarity and urgency and from page one I was swept along on this wild ride. Brilliant storytelling and an incredibly important subversion of one of America’s most beloved books."

WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE
FINALIST FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL FICTION
A 'BOOK OF THE YEAR' IN A The Observer, The Times & Sunday Times, The Guardian, Daily Mail, Daily Express, The Spectator, New Statesman, Independent, TLS, The Telegraph, Financial Times, i newspaper, The Economist, The Irish Times, Time and The New Yorker

James is a profound and ferociously funny reimagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from one of our greatest living writers, Percival Everett.

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 flees to 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.

So begins a dangerous and transcendent journey 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. And together, the unlikely pair embark on the most life-changing odyssey of them all . . .