ABOUT THE EVENT
The Phoenix Book Club, Phoenixville Public Library’s virtual book discussion group for adults of all ages, will meet on Zoom Monday, December 9 at 7:00 PM. The group will discuss James, winner of the 2024 National Book Award for Fiction.
A brilliant, action-packed reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both harrowing and darkly humorous, told from the enslaved Jim’s point of view. When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father, recently returned to town. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and too-often-unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond. While many narrative set pieces of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn remain in place (floods and storms, stumbling across both unexpected death and unexpected treasure in the myriad stopping points along the river’s banks, encountering the scam artists posing as the Duke and Dauphin…), Jim’s agency, intelligence and compassion are shown in a radically new light. Brimming with the electrifying humor and lacerating observations that have made Everett a “literary icon” (Oprah Daily), and one of the most decorated writers of our lifetime, James is destined to be a major publishing event and a cornerstone of twenty-first century American literature.
Print and audiobook copies of the book may be reserved at https://chesp.na.iiivega.com. An eBook and eAudiobook copy may be reserved at https://www.chester.overdrive.com. This event is free and open to the public. If you are not already on the Book Club’s email list, registration is required at https://ccls.libcal.com/calendar/Phoenixville/james or by calling 610-933-3013 x132 to receive the Zoom invitation. Email mpinto@ccls.org for more information.
610-933-3013 x132
