3.5 for a couple issues I mention in the end, but I liked it! I don't think "James" is a retelling of Huckleberry Finn in any way, and people might get disappointed if they want and expect to see the same story. Everrett is reinventing the character of Jim completely, and this is why I could enjoy reading it. I don't always enjoy retellings and I love Huckleberry Finn, so I worried. This is not the case here. One can love both novels for different reasons because each one brings something unique to the  conversation. 

Also, I had never heard of Daniel Decatur Emmett before this book. I knew very little about the minstrel shows, but nothing about the people involved or their type of songs. The human mind can conceive unspeakable cruelties and call it "art." 

One thing I didn't get: I did not find this book funny at all. For me, it was very sad and tragic. I understand the irony in the novel, but funny? No.

There are a couple things I wish they were done differently, and this is why my actual rating is not full 4 or 5. The parts where he had a dialogue with the philosophers, I would have preferred that we could simply hear the internal thoughts of Jim about the philosophical ideas he had read and the contradictions within them in a more realistic way. 

Mostly, I wish the book was much longer. I wanted to know more about Jim and his education, but even more, I wanted more development in the relationship of Jim and Huck, and of Jim's friendship/relationship with the white woman. I wanted more fleshed out and felt the emotional complexities of these relationships. I cannot say more without spoiling it, but those of you who have read it you know... I thought the twist was fantastic, and since the author chose to go this way, I wish he had developed it more. I felt it was very important, but it went as insignificant to both characters. 

 Overall, I  liked it. This is a great book for discussions. What the author did with the language switch was brilliant!