Morning Book Group: James

Join the Library's morning book group in reading and discussing James by Percival Everett.

James is a retelling of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the enslaved Jim's point of view. When Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father. Thus (re-)begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and too-often-unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond known to readers of "Huck Finn." While many of Twain's narrative set pieces remain in place (floods and storms, stumbling across both unexpected death and unexpected treasure in the myriad stopping points along the river's banks, encountering the scam artists posing as the Duke and Dauphin...), Jim's agency, intelligence and compassion are shown in a radically new light. Brimming with the electrifying humor and lacerating observations that have made Everett a "cult literary icon" (Oprah Daily), and one of the most decorated writers of our lifetime, James was hailed as a major publishing event from the moment of its release.

Print, ebooks and downloadable audiobook copies will be available to borrow from the Library or Libby. This discussion will be hybrid, with in-person or Zoom options. 

Morning Book Group meets the second Thursday of the month in the library Board Room. 

Email sbplprograms@southburlingtonvt.gov or call 802-846-4140 if you have questions, to get the Zoom link, or would like to be added to the email list for this group.