I had James by Percival Everett on my Libby hold list because I've heard such positive things about it, but now that it's available I'm second guessing myself. I know it's a take on Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, which I've never read but I'm aware of the basic story through cultural osmosis. Will I be missing out on a lot? Should I wait until after I've read Huck Finn?
Also, for further discussion, what's everyone's take on reading books like these without having read the source material? Is Wide Sargasso Sea worth it if you don't know Jane Eyre? March if you haven't read Little Women? Song of Achilles without the Iliad? Does each book enrich the other, or is it just a way to capitalize off more famous literary work?
by AbbyNem
2 Comments
I had the same worries, but I just read James anyway. I loved it! It’s really its own story. I think anyone could easily understand it without reading Huck Finn. James was a great read and it lived up to the hype it got.
I think most of those are fine to read without having read the original, though you’d get more out of it if you know what it’s riffing off of. Also, I’m not familiar with March so take anything I say with a grain of salt about that specific book.
James is very different from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, so I’d say you’d probably be ok going in blind or just reading a summary. You’ll miss a bit of the conversation Everett is having with Twain but I also think you’d have to do some research on Twain and the inspiration for Jim to fully get where Everett is coming from. The man’s a lit professor and knows his shit.
As to your last question, I’m not sure if they “enrich each other”, but the three I’ve read are specific interpretations that are either challenging the author’s treatment of a character or challenging the literary establishment’s sanitized take on an ancient work.