James: A Novel, by Percival Everett

Highly recommend this book. It needs to become a staple of Great Literature teachings from this point forward. Book pubbed March 19, 2024.

"My name is James. I was sold when I was born. And then sold again. My mother's mother was from someplace on the continent of Africa, as I've been told, or I simply assumed. I cannot claim to know anything of that world. Or whether my people were kings or beggars ..."

If the previous paragraph doesn't sound like "Jim," the slave of "The Adventures of Huck Finn," then you see how Everett has turned this story around. The narrator in "James" is the slave called Jim, who runs away from Hannibal, MO, and ends up on a river raft with Huck. James runs after he hears his master (Judge Thatcher) plans to sell him, thereby splitting him off from his wife, Sadie, and daughter, Lizzie. 

James teaches his family and other slaves that it's safer for slaves if white folks think they're the smartest. Being obsequious is a means by which a slave can try to escape whippings or worse. One can see how this mindset of white people continues today (in the 21st century). Though controversial among whites, racism in America continues, and is fueled by the lust for power. 

James and fellow slaves speak good English when they're out of earshot of whites. This code-switching is taught by James, who quizzes his daughter, "What would you do if you saw a fire in the distance and Mrs. Thatcher has her back to it?" After Lizzie says, "Yell 'fire'", James teaches her how to "translate" into a way that lets the white person be the one who discovers it, who decides what to do. In all situations, per James, the slave must appear stupid, clueless. 

James has dreams of speaking with Voltaire, John Locke, having intellectual discussions with these great minds. This is because James has actually read books by them in the Judge's library. As you can imagine, the great questions of life get knocked around. Wow, did Everett ever do a great job, using dreams as a way to analyze...human frailty, religion, and more. 

Note: I had to look up John Locke - "He is often credited as a founder of modern liberal thought, Locke pioneered the ideas of natural law, social contract, religious toleration, and the right to revolution that proved essential to both the American Revolution and the U.S. Constitution." (Source, https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu)