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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
A lot
The violence of antebellum slavery; whippings; the ever-present threat of murder for a runaway; some deaths
Language
Some
Adult language; the novel engages seriously with the racial language of the period
Sexual Content
Barely any
No significant sexual content
Substance Use
Barely any
Some alcohol
Emotional Intensity
A lot
The extreme psychological weight of performing servility under the threat of death; the cost of intelligence disguised as ignorance
What this book is about
Jim—formally James—has been performing the role of a slightly simple, good-natured slave for his entire life, because survival demands it. When Huck Finn appears and wants Jim to run with him, Jim must navigate his own intelligence, his own desires, and the brutal logic of an America that will kill him if he drops the performance for a moment. Percival Everett's Pulitzer Prize winner is a radical reconsideration of one of American literature's most beloved novels—sharper, angrier, funnier, and more heartbreaking than the original.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
The violence of slavery depicted without softening
Racial language of the antebellum period in context
The psychological cost of a lifetime of performance
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