I hope you came here for unpopular opinions, because I’m about to throw one at you. I’m not a big Mark Twain fan. I know, I know, but hear me out… It’s not his ideas. I love the concept of his books. He was ahead of his time, and I think satire is a very effective tool as a force for change. Humor has healing properties, and writers like Mark Twain were positively revolutionary in the world of literature. I value his books and his ideas very much. I just don’t care for his writing style and didn’t exactly enjoy reading his work. I’m sorry, Mark. Please don’t haunt me. Hannibal really isn’t that far from here.
With all that being said, I think that’s what I love so much about this particular novel. Let’s face it. We all know Jim, the escaped slave who accompanies Huck on his journey, is truly the more compelling character. Mark Twain couldn’t really write THAT particular book at the time as it wouldn’t have been as well received by the target audience, but he still presented the character of the honorable and intelligent black man who could actually forge a deep connection with a white boy in such a way that made people question their own preconceived notions and prejudices. And the original really is about Huck’s coming of age to realize the prejudices of his ancestors don’t have to define his own truth or the truth of future generations. Friendship is friendship regardless of race, age, or class. A trusted friend is a treasure, and there’s nothing wrong with doing something your elders tell you is wrong if it’s for the right purpose, especially if it’s to protect someone who needs protection. Wisdom is knowing that the old people who tell you what to do can be stupid, too. That’s a valuable narrative, and I in no way mean to de-value it by showing a preference for this new adaptation. In fact, were I to teach an American Literature course, I’d be teaching these two in tandem because the two different perspectives help the story come full circle.
Percival Everett, in his rewrite of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, presents the side of the story Twain didn’t put to paper. It’s the intimate account from Jim’s point of view, including all those times in which Jim is separated from Huck and we don’t get his experiences in the original text. What Everett gives us is a sometimes humorous, always harrowing, and often tragic view into the innermost soul of James. In his novel, James is a highly intelligent self-educated man who strategically wields his ability to play the part of the “dumb slave” for the mere purpose of survival. While covertly teaching the younger generation to read, write, and think critically, he also teaches them how to fly under the radar and tow the line so as to best protect themselves from harm as they navigate the dangerous world of the “peculiar institution” that is slavery. In this way, Jim and James almost become two different people. As the novel progresses, we see James more forcefully embracing his true identity while leaving Jim as a remembrance of a past to which he will not return. In that respect, this story is as much his coming of age as it is Huck’s.
Everett’s writing is stunning, and the moments he crafts are poignant and profound. During one particular confrontation between James and his prior abuser, I found it so damn satisfying and perfect I wanted to engage in a full-blown fist-pumping couch-jumping session of gleeful abandon. I refrained and settled for quiet glee, but it was difficult to control myself.
Like any great novel involving such an ugly time in history, much of this is difficult to stomach. It will make you angry, make you cry, and make you want to rage at the casual callousness and cruelty that infects the entirety of human history, including the history currently being written. The current cancer of human intellect is deflection and denial, a willful ignorance of the past that doesn’t allow for the prospect of remorse. How could history not repeat itself if half of us choose to deny the mere existence of the past? It makes things so much more difficult for those of us who actually want to believe in the capacity for human growth and enlightenment. Pardon me while I take a break to go scream into the void.
Ok, that’s better.
Truly, however, this novel is a marvel. It’s no surprise that it was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Not having yet read the actual winner, I won’t make the claim that James should have won, but I would say it’s definitely worthy of any and all accolades. I also highly recommend the audio as narrated by Dominic Hoffman. Looking through his catalog of other narrations, I see he also narrated Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, which is one of the most stunningly beautiful books I’ve ever read. I’m sure he did it justice though I didn’t originally read in that format. Along all fronts, this one is a five-star read.
Published March 19, 2024 by Random House Audio. ISBN 0385550367. Runtime 7 hrs 49 mins. Narrated by Dominic Hoffman.
Yes, this will be an actual book review. While my last two reviews were stark reminders of how truly FORKED the United States is, this book is like basking in the warmth of the sun on a sandy beach with a margarita in hand and no worries in your head. In case you are in need of a respite from the perils of the world, look no further than this charming contemporary romance.
This is the second book that it makes me sad to read in the era of Donald Trump’s second reign of terror. But… this time, I’m going to take a different tone. Less “burn it to the ground” and more “let’s start rebuilding.” I’ve spent the last 24 hours reflecting on this book. I loved The House on the Cerulean Sea. This whole series is full of wonderful and quirky characters who I desperately wish I could know in real life. It’s a celebration of the weird and wonderful, and it’s a call for unity in the face of division. Honestly, as a review portion I’m just going to say I adore this book, the follow-up to House on the Cerulean Sea. Everything, just everything, is sweet, profound, beautiful, heartwarming, and perfect. I can not pick a favorite character, especially amongst the children because they are amazing. And Daniel Henning, the narrator, I’m speechless. Give the man an award. Give him ALL the money. There you go, there’s your review. Now the rest is going to be another one of my essays because I’ve got a lot of things to say lately.
It makes me tremendously sad to review this book at the moment. Here we have yet another incredible work of literature that celebrates those women throughout history who toiled and fought for the respect they should be given only to be time and time again weighed down by the prejudices of men. And I’m reviewing it at a time in which more than half of my countrymen and women have once again turned our country over to the hands of a cruel, sexist, racist imbecile who only emboldens those with old antiquated ideas of women’s subservience to men. As we speak there’s some ignorant sociopath making jokes about ownership of women’s bodies based solely on the presence of the tiny penis in his trousers. Who am I kidding? There are millions of these ignorant trolls and they feel validated, vindicated, and invincible. Out of the shadows they slink to stand in the light as they once did and they laugh at those who fear for the future of their civil liberties and sense of safety. 
Real life has been a little daunting lately. As such, I have done quite a bit of reading but very little reviewing. I just can’t get my mind back in the game for some reason. I fear with how the next few months will go that will get much worse, but I’ll do my best. I am determined to finish my reading challenge, so I’m going to try my best for that final push. With so many reviews on deck, I’ve found myself having to think back very hard about some reads to remind myself of what they were even about. Sadly, some books just don’t leave an impression and thoughts get muddled afterward. This one, however, is not one of those books. 
I am currently reading two novels. The first is Love and Fury by Samantha Silva. This is a novel about the birth of Mary Shelley and the very brief amount of time she had with her mother before the elder’s passing. Literally, it begins with the midwife showing up at the door of a currently-in-labor Mary Wollstonecraft as she’s about to welcome her second daughter into the world. 
First of all, I want to pick up a copy of our next Read Between the Wines book club selection, The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes. I have read some of Moyes’ other work and enjoyed them, so I’m looking forward to picking this one up. 
W. Somerset Maugham is one of those writers who has always held a place on my to-read list but I have just never gotten around to reading him. That’s a real pity, because I feel that familiarity with his work would have been quite helpful in the reading of this novel. In part, it is an imagining of the people and historical events to which he was exposed on his trip to Malaysia in the 1920’s that inspired him to write his collection of stories, The Casaurina Tree. Maugham was apparently prone to using the lives of real people he encountered in his stories, something that prompts the husband of our leading lady, Lesley Hamlyn, to warn her not to share too much information with “Willie.”
It’s 1948, and Irene Willard finds herself left at the doors of an old mansion-turned hospital. All women at this hospital, like her, have only ever experienced the heartbreak of lost pregnancy and are desperate to deliver to their husbands that gift of a child. Under the care of an enigmatic husband and wife duo of doctors, the women undergo experimental treatments that promise to bring their pregnancies to term. As Irene’s pregnancy progresses, strange things begin happening at the hospital. She will find herself doubting both her own sanity and everything she’s been promised by the doctors.
Are you one of those parents who has lots of anxiety over the effect technology is having on our kiddos, especially their obsessive need to have faces buried in tablets? Would you like even more stress and anxiety mixed with guilt over what you’ve allowed to happen? Then read this book. Ok, I’m sort of joking about that. I actually think this book presents some amazing points and amazing ideas for breaking the hold technology has on our kids, though I did have some issues with it. That being said, I want to make it clear that my response to this book is solely my opinion on the issue. I don’t wish to imply any one philosophy or style is correct or incorrect. We are all doing our best. Let’s get into it, shall we? 
Alexandra Quinlan has gone to great lengths to separate herself from the night that changed her life forever, the night her entire family was massacred leaving her the only survivor and the initial prime suspect. Ten years after the murders and after increasingly tumultuous years in which she fought to clear her name and get justice for the mistreatment she received by both law enforcement and the media, she now does some investigative work for a law firm. She’s changed both her name and her look, no longer recognizable as “Empty Eyes,” the name given to her by the media on the night of her family’s murder. When a particularly disturbing investigation leads her to clues regarding her own family’s still-unsolved murder, Alex finds herself back in the past reliving that awful night and pulling her into a dangerous world of secrets for which she may not be prepared. 
A Librarian and Her Books 