Good afternoon readers!
We had a terrific discussion last week unpacking, The Soul of an Octopus, by Sy Montgomery. She is a noted oceanographer focusing her work on studying the octopus. The readers became aware of the sentient nature of these creatures while reading, Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt. This new read sheds so much more light on the subject. That a seemingly simple cephalopod has personal tastes, opinions and an individual personality is quite a discovery! This is a great read and we highly recommend it.
Our next selection is James, by Percival Everett. This is the story of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn told from the point of view of the escaped slave, Jim. Here is a synopsis from Amazon:
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.
Many of us are going to reread Huck Finn to refresh our memories before we tackle James. It has been awhile...!
The book is available in all formats on Amazon and the Library. Aaron has also put a few on our shelf at Levin & Co.
Our next meeting date will be Monday, November 11th. We didn't want to conflict with election day! We will meet at my house at 7:00.
Enjoy the read!
Linda
