James
by Percival L. Everett · first published 2024
5mentions
2recommended by
5HN commenters
2024–2025first – last mentioned
40% recommend60% critical
A brilliant reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn—both harrowing and satirical—told from the enslaved Jim's point of view When Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he runs away until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck has faked his own death to escape his violent father. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond. Brimming with nuanced hum
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…published his last novel in the last 25 years, it seems somewhat callous to bifurcate the great from the good so chronologically. Percival Everett immediately comes to mind - with Pulitzer Prize-winning James, a nuanced and insightful retelling of Huckleberry Finn, or 'I Am Not Sydney Poitier' which works almost as an homage to Steinbeck. 'The Nickel Boys' by Colson Whitehead I'd argue surpasses most of Steinbeck's…
on “Books by People – Defending Organic Literature in an AI World” ↗James by Percival Everett Five Decembers by James Kestrel The Names by Florence Knapp The King in Yellow by Robert Chambers A Short Stay in Hell by Steven Peck
on “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” ↗My neighborhood book club most recently read James by Percival Everett. I can't say I liked it that much, but if it doesn't qualify as literary fiction, I don't know what will. Having said, that, most of the fiction best seller list in today's NY Times…
on “Big five publishers have abandoned literary fiction, putting it on life support” ↗…- "Fugitive Telemetry" and "System Collapse" by Martha Wells - "Treasure Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson (I was surprisingly into it) - "Glass Houses" by Madeline Ashby - "Cover Her Face" by P.D.James - "The Crystal Shard" by R.A.Salvatore (I needed to see what Drizzt is all about) - "James" by Percival Everett (maybe my biggest disappointment of the year) - "Alien Clay" by Adrian Tchaikovsky -…
on “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” ↗…Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things — Adam Grant • Game Engine Black Book: Wolfenstein 3D — Fabien Sanglard • Jurassic Park — Michael Crichton • Killing Commendatore — Haruki Murakami • James — Percival Everett • Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre — Max Brooks • Last Argument of Kings — Joe Abercrombie
on “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” ↗