A review by angel_ontheother
James by Percival Everett

adventurous emotional funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

(To preface: I haven't read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn). 

It took me a while to get into this. The plot structure is different from what I'd expected, so it took me a while to adjust to. I eventually realized that longer reading sessions were better than short ones – once I got into a good reading groove, I read the second half of the book in basically one sitting, and found it to be very engaging and enjoyable! I'm glad I gave this book a shot despite thinking I wouldn't be able to totally get into it.

There were some pretty grim scenes, which I had anticipated, but what I didn't know, was that there would also be a fair amount of humor weaved in. Certain parts had me laughing out loud! The humor balanced out the heavy emotions and helped the plot go at a quick pace. 

I thought the use of code-switching was brilliantly done, and there's a plot twist near the end that got me good but also made sense in retrospect. I would definitely recommend this!

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