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tea_time's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Slavery
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and War
e11en's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Racism, Rape, Slavery, and Murder
athu's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Murder, and Sexual harassment
readingoverbreathing's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
All that is to say, my expectations were pretty high. And while in some ways I had a good idea of what to expect, I also had no idea where Percival Everett's brilliant mind was going to take this.
I will admit that I was not really feeling the first few chapters. With little more than a racist stereotype to go off of, James's character felt like a carbon copy of Everett himself transposed onto this story, which is something that always bothers me. For the first half, there wasn't much departure from the original plot, and I was dreading the meetup with the Duke and the King, whom I find pretty unbearable as characters.
But thankfully that's just when things shifted and Everett's subversion really began to take shape. I kept expecting him to pick the threads of the original plot back up, but, honestly, he never did — and I loved it. Now we were getting the fresh, sharp, and realistically brutal spin that I had been waiting for.
True to Everett's style, we descended into more and more chaos and violence, but all of it was brilliantly done. By the end, we were verging on Everett's characteristic absurdity, but in a way that was truly the best possible climax this reimagination could have had.
I still feel like the first half was a little slow and James's character a little too close to Everett himself, but other than that, this is truly such a brilliant reimaging and, unsurprisingly, worth the praise and hype it's currently receiving. I don't think a read (or reread) of Huck Finn is essential, especially if you're already familiar with the historical context, but it will do so much to enrich your experience of this book, so I think well worth it for those considering.
Graphic: Racism, Rape, Violence, and Murder
lnaile's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Rape and Murder
greendog95's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, and Murder
Moderate: Torture and Violence
Minor: War
costumegirl77's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and Murder
thepermageek's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, and Violence
Moderate: Murder
maregred's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Slavery
Moderate: Death
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
sandsing7's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence and Violence
Minor: Alcoholism and Death