Percival Everett’s James is nothing short of genius. It was one of my few 5***** star reads for 2024…and I don’t hand them out lightly. We read it for my book club and I made a project out of re-reading The Adventures of Huck Finn and then James. And while doing that isn’t a requirement for enjoying James, it did highlight for me some of what makes James really special.
The book was a clever retelling that managed to hew to the general story outlined in Huck Finn, while also veering from it in important ways. It explored the evils of slavery and a pointed moment in time, when the country was about to explode into war over it. And ultimately, the book was about language and how owning your story and your name are critical to identity.
So, for fans of James who want more of that, I’ve got a few suggestions for you.
And if you’re reading this novel for book club, be sure to use our James discussion guide.
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5 Books to Read if You Loved James
Kindred, Octavia Butler
Kindred is the story of a young black woman living in 1970’s California who is inexplicably transported back in time to a plantation where her ancestors lived in early 1800’s Maryland. This novel explores life as a slave from a historical lens, but also from our main character’s “modern” view, as she struggles to survive long enough to return to her life in real time. This is an excellent choice if you’d like to explore more of the themes of slavery but also examine their lasting impacts on society.
Homegoing, Yaa Gyasi
Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing is a multi-generational family saga that takes the reader down the two distinct paths of half-sisters Effia and Esi, one of whom is married into a British family living in Ghana, and the other of whom is sold into the slave trade and sent to America. Homegoing is full of themes that will create lively discussion at your next book club, including discussions of slavery and racism in America, the impacts of colonization and the slave trade in Africa, and many others.
Julia, Sandra Newman
If you enjoyed reading a familiar story from a new perspective in James, try Julia by Sandra Newman. This novel is a clever retelling of George Orwell’s 1984, from the perspective of the main character Winston’s love interest, Julia. Experiencing the tyrannical and terrifying world of 1984 from a woman’s perspective adds new layers to the original classic.
Babel, R.F. Kuang
(subtitle: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution)
That subtitle is rather a mouthful, but it does give you a hint about what you’re going to get. Babel is set in roughly the same timeframe as James, but rather than straight literary historical fiction, this book has an interesting magical element. You see, in this magical system, words in translation have the power to imbue objects with magic. Oxford runs a very profitable translation institution and the powers who be are very invested in keeping it that way.
Robin, a Cantonese orphan is raised by one of Oxford’s professors and is trained in the ways of the institute. But the more he learns about how it all works, the more disillusioned he becomes with the endeavor.
The power of language is central to the magic, but the corrupting influence of colonialism, a white power structure and racial/class divides lend tension to the story.
Read this one for book club and use our Babel discussion guide.
The Sympathizer, Viet Thanh Nguyen
Set against the backdrop of a more modern war, The Sympathizer follows a communist double agent. He’s a “man of two minds,” a half-French, half-Vietnamese army captain who arranges to come to America after the Fall of Saigon. As he builds a new life with other Vietnamese refugees in Los Angeles, he’s also secretly reporting back to his communist superiors in Vietnam.
This book is like James in that the “sympathizer” has a very rich interior dialog going. He maintains appearances while going about serving his own personal aims. It also won a Pulitzer.
Related Readalike Lists
- Books like Heaven and Earth Grocery Store (for more of the African American experience).
- Books like Where the Crawdads Sing (escapes and watery adventure).
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