James by Percival Everett

Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2024
'A towering achievement' - the 2024 Booker Prize judges

'Truly extraordinary books are rare, and this is one of them' - Roddy Doyle, Booker Prize-winning author of Paddy Clarke, Ha Ha Ha

James by Percival Everett is a profound and ferociously funny meditation on identity, belonging and the sacrifices we make to protect the ones we love. From the author of The Trees, shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and Erasure, adapted into the Oscar-winning film American Fiction.

The Mississippi River, 1861. When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a new owner in New Orleans and separated from his wife and daughter forever, he flees to nearby Jackson's Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father who recently returned to town.

So begins a dangerous and transcendent journey along the Mississippi River, towards the elusive promise of the free states and beyond. As James and Huck navigate the treacherous waters, each bend in the river holds the promise of both salvation and demise. And together, the unlikely pair embark on the most life-changing odyssey of them all . . .

'Who should read this book? Every single person in the country' - Ann Patchett, bestselling author of Tom Lake

'A canon-shatteringly great book' - Hernan Diaz, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Trust

'Funny, wise, gracious; this may be Everett's best book yet' - Bonnie Garmus, bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry

'Thrilling, bold and profound' - The Sunday Times

'This is the work of an American master at the peak of his powers' - Financial Times

'Gripping, painful, funny, horrifying . . . a consummate performance ' - The Observer