We're kicking off with Mrs Cummings: 'Can I please recommend James by Percival Everett? I’m sure I won’t be the only one. This wonderful book was robbed of the Booker Prize this year. As you probably already know, it is a retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the viewpoint of the enslaved Jim.
Unlike Ishan, who presented the novel for our Predict the Booker event, I have not read the original book but I never felt it was a problem. James is funny and brutal and very moving, and is genuinely one of those books that stays with you long after you finish it. I listened to it on audio, narrated by the wonderful Dominic Hoffman (The Shield, Gray’s Anatomy), and it is a brilliant use of 7 hours 49 minutes.'
