The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
teagwood's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
knit_the_resistance's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The premise of the book is an exploration of the experience of Jim from Huck Finn. It's really the story of the gap he leaves behind in the lives of his family. It's a difficult book to read, in figuring out the language, the characters, and the theme, but also in the story of enslaved people in a brutal, hostile time. This is not a pleasant story.Â
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Confinement, Grief, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Child death, Physical abuse, Suicide, Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Gore, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Sexual violence
carolynf's review against another edition
4.0
Very sad spin-off from Huck Finn about the life of Jim's wife.
readingwithcoffee's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
Rawles chooses an extremely difficult decision of following up an American classic that also serves a critique of the first novel and it’s approach to black characters and race. As someone who enjoyed Huckleberry Finn, Rawles deserves to be considered a necessary companion piece as it actively respects and prioritizes the experiences of black enslaved people that the original novel despite being motivated to address the slavery of its time fails to do. It prioritized and makes center the reality and violence of slavery that Tom and Huckleberry played for laughs as ignorant white free boys who waited to tell Jim that he was free. Short read but can be difficult because the subject matter of a woman that was a survivor of chattel slavery.Â
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Racism, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, and Slavery
jessreads82's review against another edition
3.0
Tried to read this book, but as authentic as the author was trying to make it like a memoir, I did not like the narrative. Quit 25% in, so I can’t comment on the story. The story could be higher than 3 stars
line_so_fine's review against another edition
4.0
This probably goes without saying, but this book was so sad. If one of the author's goals was to make the life story of a slave as personal an account as possible for the reader, I think she accomplished that. It made me think of my own indentured ancestors- I kept having to put the book down and give myself a minute, which made the small, simply-written book take a relatively long time to read.
greenspe's review against another edition
5.0
Phenomenal. Sadie Watson is one hell of a captivating narrator, and My Jim is a masterpiece.
corar's review
4.0
My Jim is inspired by the character Jim in Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn. Although it is inspired by Jim, the novel tells the story of Sadie, Jim's wife. The story is told in the first person using colloquial dialog. Sadie's granddaughter is about to set off on her grown up life away from her grandmother and Sadie has finally decided to tell her story. Sadie and her granddaughter make a memory quilt while Sadie tells the young woman about the people she loved and incorporates objects that remind her of them into the quilt. Sadie's story begins as a slave on a tobacco plantation in Missouri and continues beyond emancipation to her life as a freed slave. The novel gives the reader an appreciation of what it was like to be a slave. It makes the reader feel Sadie's emotional desolation as she experiences atrocities that were common place at the time. While Rawles definitely doesn't sugarcoat anything, the novel is not as graphic or raw as other books based on slave narratives. Sadie is a compelling character, but most of the secondary characters are not portrayed as detailed as Sadie. I believe that the reader is held back from knowing these characters because Sadie holds herself back from loving them too much in order to avoid heartbreak when they are taken from her. Since Sadie is telling the story to her granddaughter, who never experienced slavery, the story is especially suited to young adults. It is a story of one generation explaining to another the strength of their ancestors. A strength that they share to help hold them up in current times. To quote the novel, "All them watching over you. Folks you aint even know wishing you well praying right now for your soul. If you let the spirits near you they guide you along. All them Africans. They spirits never settle till the last of they children come home...You take that quilt wherever you go. When you old and wore you think on me and all the others love you. You close your eyes and feel our love coming up behind you. Thats all you got in this world."
More...