Reviews tagging 'Death'

James by Percival Everett

68 reviews

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Gun violence and War

rascali's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Slavery, Torture, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse and Rape

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

tea_time's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

This was my first Percival Everett book and I was absolutely blown away! This story was tragic, action-packed, funny, and redemptive all at the same time and it's hard to put into words how I felt about as I was reading it. I think it will have to sit with me for awhile. I will say that I believe it's a book that everyone needs to experience.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Slavery

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and War

costumegirl77's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and Murder

maregred's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny hopeful mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Slavery

Moderate: Death

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

sandsing7's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence and Violence

Minor: Alcoholism and Death

knkoch's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

I found this a worthy reframing of Twain's story with much-needed balance and stakes, or perhaps, an emphasis on what was always at stake. What makes a White boy's rip-roaring adventure is in turn a life-or-death trial for James, with odds heavily weighted towards death. Death because any crime that occurs near him is presumed his fault, death because he is a runaway slave, and death simply because he is not allowed free movement over the land. James leans hard into the sort of racial horror/thriller genre of books like Lovecraft Country and movies like 'Get Out',  though without any elements of fantasy. The very real threat of violence within a universally unjust system grounds the suspense.

It's been almost twenty years (💀) since I've read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and I remembered little of the original story. I don't know if reading it beforehand (or sometime now afterwards) would add to my experience of this novel. It's hard to imagine buying into some aspects of that story now, knowing this one. Even though I wouldn't consider a child guilty in the same way I would a slaveholding adult, it's hard to hold space for Huck's fun and adventure amidst the danger for James of either re-enslavement or execution. Certainly, even within a slaveholding society, there were pockets of joy and celebration, as it's the nature of the human spirit to create those pockets under most conditions. But James' ultimate aim in this story, the pursuit of freedom he grapples for both physically and philosophically, demonstrates the superseding value and centrality of freedom both inherent in all human beings and essential to our souls.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

michelle_harris's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Physical abuse, Slavery, and Murder

Minor: Rape

mollyb13's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-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? No

5.0

HIGHLY recommend the audio as the narrator (Dominic Hoffman) really brings this one to life! I hadn't read Huck Finn since high school but a lot of it came back to me as I listened to this and actually think that it was good I didn't do a reread right before listening to this one. I feel like the author complemented Huck's half of the story so well. He updated the story/made it more relevant for our current time, yet didn't take anything away from the time period this was set in. Written beautifully as an oral telling. I hope that if Huck Finn is still being taught in schools then I sure hope that James is taught right along with it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Slavery

krandelzhofer's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Violence, and Murder