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Judiciously Ambitious, Masterfully Executed
Percival Everett’s upcoming novel “James” promises an audacious and skillful reimagining of the American classic “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” By centering the narrative on the enslaved Jim’s perspective, Everett undertakes a profound revisioning that imbues this familiar tale with newfound agency, intelligence, and humanity for one of literature’s most iconic characters.
Accolades from esteemed publications tout “James” as a “masterpiece,” a “major achievement,” and Everett’s “most thrilling” and “most soulful” work yet. Such high praise hints at the author’s deft handling of a delicate undertaking – reckoning with a controversial literary giant while crafting an ambitious work that stands apart as a “cornerstone of twenty-first-century American literature.”
Maintaining recognizable story beats allows Everett to subvert expectations through Jim’s interiority. The juxtaposition of harrowing realities against Everett’s “electrifying humor and lacerating observations” suggests a gripping, multifaceted exploration of freedom, human decency, and America’s fraught racial legacy.
Everett’s accolades as a “literary icon” and one of the most “decorated writers of our lifetime” prime “James” as a summit in a remarkable career. This novel emerges as a lofty artistic triumph and an essential new perspective on a canonical work – an achievement critics are already hailing as revolutionary.
