sunset over ocean, dark aesthetic.

A classic has been born. Yeah, I know—you’ve heard that before. It’s on the back cover of practically every book you pick up. But this time, it’s for real. The 2024 novel James, by Percival Everett, isn’t just destined to become a classic of American literature; it already is one. And now everyone’s asking me the same question: Should I read Huckleberry Finn before James?

The Irony of “Should I Read Huckleberry Finn Before James?”

The question “Should I read Huckleberry Finn before James?” is ironic and humorous. That’s because, long before James was just a figment in Percival Everett’s wildest dreams, people were asking a similar question: “Should I read Tom Sawyer before Huckleberry Finn?”

In fact, the opening sentence of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain (the pen name of Samuel Clemens), reads:

“You don’t know about me without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; but that ain’t no matter.”

It ain’t no matter because in the next paragraph, the narrator (who is no other than Huck Finn himself) sums up everything you need to know about The Adventures of Tom Sawyer to enjoy The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

(It also ain’t no matter because Huck don’t have no highfalutin’ pretensions and would rather be traipsing through the wilderness than acclaimed as the famous hero of some book.)

So my initial answer to everyone who asks me “Should I Read Huckleberry Finn Before James?” is—actually, it’s possible that you will want to read two Mark Twain books before reading James!

But is all that really necessary?

Calling All Blog Readers āž”ļø I Need Your Help šŸ™
Support the manifestation of my new novel šŸ“• Get rewards in return šŸŽ Bookish articles on Wednesdays šŸ“ƒ Behind-the-scenes articles on Fridays šŸ«£ Snail mail postcards šŸ“Ŗ Other secret extras šŸ’ I'm a dedicated author āœļø I wouldn't ask if I didn't truly need you šŸ›Ÿ It's not like you can buy anything else for $4 in this economy šŸ’µ
šŸ‘‰ Join Patreon, where fans support living artists and creators! šŸ‘ˆ
 
My Full Answer to “Should I Read Tom Sawyer Before Huckleberry Finn?”

You are safe in trusting Huck’s assessment at the beginning of his Adventures. All you need to know about Tom Sawyer before reading Huckleberry Finn is contained on page 1 of Huckleberry Finn.

Mark Twain is able to do such a quick summarization because Tom Sawyer isn’t a complex book. It’s a kids’ adventure tale with a straightforward plot. Specifically, it’s a series of humorous and dramatic episodes about a boy, Tom, who’s always getting into trouble, pranking his friends, letting his imagination run wild, and miraculously turning himself into the hero of every story.

One of Tom’s many friends is a poor, unkempt, motherless boy named Huck, and at the end of the book Tom and Huck . . .

SPOILER ALERT - open at your own risk
. . . find a stash of gold.

So here’s my assessment. If you want to read a historical adventure story for the fun of it, read Tom Sawyer. But nothing in there sheds extra light on Huckleberry Finn, which is a far more complex book. And definitely nothing in Tom Sawyer sheds extra light on James—beyond what you can glean from reading page 1 of Huckleberry Finn or my summary of Tom Sawyer above.

About James, by Percival Everett

Who is Percival Everett, you ask, and what right does he have to rewrite an American classic?

Everett is a masterful American novelist at the peak of his career. He not only has the right to rewrite a deeply flawed American classic (as we all do), but the authorial and literary expertise to do it right.

You may have seen the very funny and thought-provoking movie American Fiction, which is based on Everett’s novel Erasure.

You may have read my blog post Rise, in which I featured Everett’s 2021 novel, The Trees.

Are You a Creative With Books šŸ“š Art šŸ–¼ or Music šŸŽø for Sale?
Social media marketing šŸ“± is made fun šŸŽ‰ with Marketing by Shelby šŸ’» Optimize your Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and other platforms šŸ“¶ Shelby, a marketing expert, sold tens of thousands of books on social media šŸ’µ She's a knowledgeable and trustworthy guide šŸ‘© I was in her club šŸ¤ It really works šŸ“ˆ You'll be amazed šŸ¤©
šŸ‘‰ Join the creative's content club! šŸ‘ˆ   šŸ‘‰ Get templates, scripts, and graphics! šŸ‘ˆ
 

James is a retelling of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of the runaway slave Jim. Jim/James is an adult who travels down the Mississippi River with the boy Huck.

James is a masterpiece of American fiction. As a former high school English teacher who taught Huckleberry Finn to eleventh graders in North Carolina and Illinois, I am intimately familiar with Huck Finn‘s greatness, as well as its deep and tragic flaws. It’s astonishing to me that Everett was able to capitalize on this famous story’s greatness while also twisting and flipping its flaws upside down. James infuses the famous story about Huck and Jim’s journey on the Mississippi River with truer and more modern perspectives on what America has been, is today, and can be one day.

A Sad and Profound Moment in James by Percival Everett

In the novel, James is involuntarily recruited into a band of musicians. It’s a group of (almost entirely) white men who put on blackface and perform mistral shows for white audiences. James tries to gain information about his situation by asking the clarinetist, Big Mike, about the lead musician, as well as the band as a whole:

“He say you folks don’t b’leeb in slavery. Dat true?”
Big Mike shrugged.
“Does you?”
“Some folks have slaves. Who else gonna do the work? I have no slaves. I don’t have a dog, neither.”

(Note: James is laying on the accent rather thick here, for reasons that are made clear to readers.)

This is such a sad and powerful passage. It’s historically accurate to depict the average poor white man in rural Missouri in pre-Civil War times as indifferent or resigned to the existence of slavery. Just because he himself doesn’t own slaves doesn’t mean he’s an abolitionist. It’s tragic, but it’s true.

My Initial Answer to “Should I Read Huckleberry Finn Before James?”

Should you read Huckleberry Finn before James? In the end, it doesn’t matter too much, as long as you get around to reading James.

James is such a masterpiece that I would hate for you to miss out on it. So if reading Mark Twain seems like an insurmountable burden considering your time and energy availability, skip it and go directly to James.

My full answer has more nuance than that. Read on to learn more about the ramifications of three options: Not reading Huckleberry Finn, reading the whole thing, or reading some of it, before reading James.

Answer #1 to “Should I Read Huckleberry Finn Before James?”: NO

If you have never read Huckleberry Finn, be forewarned that you will be missing out on a lot of satire when you read James. Have you ever seen an SNL sketch parodying a movie you never saw? It’ll be less funny to you than to your friends who have seen the movie, right? That’s the experience you’ll get.

On the other hand, one thing that makes James such a masterpiece is that it can stand alone. It truly is a self-contained novel that does not need Huckleberry Finn as a crutch. There are plenty of jokes that you can understand without having read a lick of Twain. There are plenty of interesting adventures that you will enjoy and reflections on the tragedies of America that you will get.

Just be aware that there will be vast swaths of the novel that you won’t fully get.

A special note to those who read Huckleberry Finn a long time ago, maybe in high school, and suspect that you’ve forgotten most of it: You will probably remember enough of the basics to understand much of the satire. But you may miss some of the more nuanced stuff without a reread.

Answer #2 to “Should I Read Huckleberry Finn Before James?”: YES, THE WHOLE THING

For all the purists out there who want to experience the full depth of the satire of James, reading (or rereading) Huckleberry Finn is your best bet.

But watch out—the novel is becoming more and more dated and offensive as the decades pass. Mark Twain is still a genius of a writer who’s brilliant at dishing out the one-liners. But be prepared to be shocked into the regressiveness of this novel . . . which was progressive at the time of its publication.

The ending of Huckleberry Finn is especially cringey. The novel takes a nosedive in quality when Tom Sawyer reappears in chapter XXXII.

Answer #3 to “Should I Read Huckleberry Finn Before James?”: YES, SOME OF IT

The ending of Huckleberry Finn is so terrible that I can’t recommend it to you in good faith. Besides, one of the strengths of James is that the plot veers away from Twain’s version near the end, thereby avoiding some of the deepest flaws of the original story. So there’s no reason to put yourself through the torture of reading the end of Huckleberry Finn, unless you want to for the sake of historical interest.

Here’s my advice for what parts of Huckleberry Finn to read before James to get the best experience:

  • Chapters I-XVI: READ. The opening chapters set the scene and establish the characters. This is high adventure and plot.
  • Chapters XVII-XVIII: SKIM OR SKIP. These two chapters are a rather boring interlude where Huck is separated from Jim. It’s an extended satire on two backwoods feuding families. Start reading again at the end of chapter XVIII, when Huck reconnects with Jim.
  • Chapter XIX: READ. In chapter XIX, we meet the King and the Duke, two prominent characters who also appear in James.
  • Chapters XX-XXXIII: READ, SKIM, or SKIP. These chapters are an extended adventure story involving Huck, Jim, the King, and the Duke. Reading them will help you reflect on the similar chapters in James, but this isn’t essential reading. My advice? Stop whenever you get bored and pick up James.
  • Chapter XXXIV-Chapter the Last: SKIP. These chapters are mean-spirited and, for the most part, incredibly boring. There’s one funny Mark Twain joke at the beginning of chapter XLI that you can read if you want a laugh. Other than that, these chapters are widely hailed as garbage.
Last Words on Reading Huckleberry Finn Before James

I have read Huckleberry Finn at least four times. Once in high school, and then three or more times as a high school English teacher. This was a very long time ago, so it wasn’t fresh in my memory when James was released this year. I decided not to reread Huckleberry Finn before reading James, figuring that I had read it enough times that I would be fine.

And I was. That being said, there were several episodes that I had forgotten—even after having read the book multiple times and taught it to others! But reading James jogged my memory enough to get the gist. I’m sure I would have gotten a fuller experience if I had read Huckleberry Finn yet again beforehand. But sometimes, good enough is good enough!

Have you read James? If so, did you read Huckleberry Finn beforehand, and how did reading or not reading Twain beforehand affect your experience? If not, do you plan to read Huckleberry Finn before James?


Featured in this post: James by Percival Everett Buy it now
Also mentioned: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Buy it now
Also mentioned: Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain Buy it now
Also mentioned: Erasure by Percival Everett Buy it now
Also mentioned: The Trees by Percival Everett Buy it now