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In honor of African American Heritage Month, the UMGC Europe Book Club, open to the entire community, will host its next meeting on February 4 at 12 p.m. CET via Zoom, featuring a discussion of Percival Everett’s latest novel, James (2024).
This compelling reimagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) shifts the perspective from Mark Twain’s titular character to that of Jim, the enslaved man who accompanies Huck down the Mississippi. Everett, known for his incisive wit and masterful storytelling, brings depth and complexity to Jim, transforming him from a secondary character into the hero of his own story.
By reimagining Jim’s journey, Everett offers a powerful exploration of African American literary history and the legacies of slavery. African American literature has long served as a means of reclaiming narratives, particularly through the tradition and tropes of the slave narrative, which strongly influenced Everett’s depiction. James fits within this tradition by giving voice to a character whose presence in Twain’s classic has been both vital and underexamined.
One of the recurring symbols in the novel is the stolen pencil, with which Jim records his story. The pencil, which leads to one man’s lynching while offering Jim freedom, demonstrates the power of literacy in the African American tradition.
The novel also invites readers to reconsider themes of resistance and survival. In Twain’s original text, Jim is assumed to be illiterate, but Everett reveals him to be a keen observer of language and power. Everett playfully critiques language as both a tool of oppression and a means of protection. Jim eloquently teaches his daughter what we now call code-switching—not just as a survival tool but as a means of maintaining emotional autonomy in a system designed to break the spirit.
Everett’s reimagining of Jim’s relationship with himself and his family challenges long-accepted narratives and highlights the agency of those historically denied a voice. By allowing Jim to take control of his own story, James both highlights the erasure of Black voices from historical and literary canons and honors the richness of African American storytelling traditions. Jim’s narrative employs many literary conventions found in the Black literary tradition, including signifying, performative minstrelsy, and code-switching. These elements reflect recognizable cultural strategies for survival as an enslaved person in America.
James is more than just a retelling—it is a radical act of storytelling that demands we listen to those whose histories have been misrepresented or ignored. As we come together to discuss James, we celebrate Jim’s journey and honor the African American literary tradition.
Everyone is welcome to join the UMGC Europe Book Club—no need to be a student or faculty member!
For more information, visit our Facebook page or email bookclub-europe@umgc.edu for questions on membership or how Book Club can facilitate other community reading events. Join us to celebrate African American Heritage Month by exploring James and discussing the power of storytelling
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