Although I usually give a short summary of each book I have read, I don’t think it’s necessary with James. James is sort of a retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the point of view of Jim, the runaway slave. I say sort of because although the first third of the novel adheres pretty closely to Twain’s classic, Jim(James) then becomes separated from Huck and the odyssey takes a different path with James meeting up with a new group of characters.

Parts of James are clever and ironic. For instance when James is hired as a minstrel, he must wear black face make up even though he is black. However, there are other scenes that are not very creative or original. Truth be told, I began reading James doubtful that it could ever be as great as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Just to be sure, I will next read Twain’s novel again, and see if my doubts were correct.