James Audiobook By Percival Everett cover art

James

A Novel

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James

By: Percival Everett
Narrated by: Dominic Hoffman
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PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • A brilliant, action-packed reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both harrowing and darkly humorous, told from the enslaved Jim's point of view

NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST • ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW'S 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE • KIRKUS PRIZE WINNER • A LOS ANGELES TIMES BEST FICTION BOOK OF THE LAST 30 YEARS

In development as a feature film to be produced by Steven Spielberg • A Best Book of the Year: The New York Times Book Review, LA Times, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Economist, TIME, and more.

"Genius"—The Atlantic • "A masterpiece that will help redefine one of the classics of American literature, while also being a major achievement on its own."—Chicago Tribune • "A provocative, enlightening literary work of art."—The Boston Globe • "Everett’s most thrilling novel, but also his most soulful."—The New York Times

When Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he runs away until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck has faked his own death to escape his violent father. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond. 

Brimming with the electrifying humor and lacerating observations that have made Everett a literary icon, this brilliant and tender novel radically illuminates Jim’s agency, intelligence, and compassion as never before. James is destined to be a major publishing event and a cornerstone of twenty-first century American literature.

Accolades & Awards

Best of 2024
Editors Select
Pulitzer Prize
2025
National Book Award
2024
Los Angeles Times Book Prize
2024
Best of 2024 Editors Select Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Los Angeles Times Book Prize National Book Award Pulitzer Prize Adventure Thought-Provoking Fiction Mississippi Literature & Fiction Satire Witty Comedy Inspiring

Editorial Review

A radical reimagining
In the wake of Percival Everett's renewed attention for Erasure, the 2001 novel that inspired the Oscar-nominated film American Fiction, the author is once again sweeping the literary world off its feet, taking us on a journey down the Ohio River that just as swiftly subverts racist stereotypes in storytelling today. James, a reimagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn told from Jim’s perspective, can’t help but make a stir in the publishing world, as it places a radical spin on what is not only one of the most challenged classics in public libraries but one of the most frequently debated American satires of all time. Narrator Dominic Hoffman, who recently wowed with his melting pot of accents in James McBride’s The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, expands Jim’s narrative with dignity and grace while preserving the character’s signature dialect. —Haley H., Audible Editor

Powerful Reimagining • Complex Protagonist • Masterful Narration • Unflinching Historical Portrayal • Emotional Depth

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Writing and narration superb.so we understand the true horror of slavery as opposed to some of the recent revisionist bs

Brilliant

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I am speechless. Heartbroken. Since there is a 15 word minimum I will go on. From inside Jim’s beautiful mind and heart we feel viscerally what slaves had to endure. A masterpiece.

Absolutely amazing!

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I enjoyed the words and the performance of the words. I imagined reading the book as the performer made the characters come alive. it is a classic work of literature and a flawless reading.

incredible

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This is the first book by Mr. Everett that I have read. I will read his whole catalog without question. I am humbled again by what is more true than any Mark Twain I could ever read.

Speechless

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The extreme liberties the author took to veer away from the original Huck Finn disappointed me. Otherwise, very insightful .

Slightly disappointing in places

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