Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

James by Percival Everett

31 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

princesskittyglitter's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Murder, and Colonisation

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail

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

jeggert10's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny hopeful 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Blood, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body horror, Cursing, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexism, Terminal illness, Excrement, Antisemitism, Grief, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, and War

penguins_save_lives's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, and Trafficking

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gun violence, Excrement, Vomit, Alcohol, and War

casey_sunshine's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad fast-paced

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

3.0

I read this as part of a book club, and would not otherwise have chosen it, so that colors my review.

The project that this book undertakes—retelling Adventure of Huckleberry Finn and reimagining it from the perspective of Jim, the enslaved man—is clever and thought-provoking. As someone who did not love Huck Finn and does not love the Americana of it all, some of this book’s excellence is lost on me. 

I appreciated the choices that the author made to differentiate from the source material, and the correctives he makes to the White Savior narrative lurking therein. This book permits Jim and other enslaved people to claim their own liberation, form their own senses of self, and always be in on the joke and the subversion—rather than always the one mocked and humiliated.

The content warnings should not come as a surprise, given the subject matter, but be warned.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence

Minor: Death and Death of parent

emerentina's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring reflective tense

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

lmconway_ak's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective medium-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? Yes

4.0

While this was a good read, I suggest you not read Adventures of Huckleberry Finn first, or even as a comparison. There are significant plot differences and even character behavior differences that aren't exactly necessary to this story. I did feel the code switching and intelligence shown by James an excellent addition to the character and overall, character development was sound and well done.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

leslie_overbookedsocialworker's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail