What to Read Next: Everett's "James" and Winters' "Big Time"

Issue #324, featuring two buzzy new novels.

Happy Friday, readers!

I’m deep into a couple of big classics right now (An American Tragedy and volume two of The Last Lion), but I’ve recently quite enjoyed some of 2024’s most anticipated new fiction. Today, I’m really excited to tell ya’ll about Percival Everett’s James — though I know it’s already on many of your TBR lists. I’m also sharing the latest thriller from a novelist who flies more under the radar than I’d like to see.

Let’s get jump right in!

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James by Percival Everett

Before James, I’d never read the prolific Percival Everett. His work has long been on my radar but I hadn’t taken the plunge. I’m very into re-tellings of classic literary stories, though, so it was easy to jump into this reimagining of Huck Finn with no reservations.

I’ll get right to it here, because I want everyone to read this book: James is easily one of the best books I’ve read this year and I fully expect it to make my year-end favorites list.

This action-packed, subversive narrative is told from the perspective of Jim, the runaway slave who accompanies Huck in Mark Twain’s classic story. Everett brings a fresh, witty, incisive, and intelligent eye to the tale, making the character of James — transformed from Jim — even more memorable than Huck himself.

Hitting on most of the important plot points from Huck Finn while adding new and utterly unique elements as well, Everett manages to entertain while also saying something vital about the stories of our past and the stories we continue to tell. The use of language and “code-switching” is especially well done.

I was hooked from the start (via audio) and had a hard time putting the story down, listening at every possible opportunity. It’s not often that I want to immediately go back to the beginning and absorb every word again, but James was that powerful. (There’s a good chance I’ll read the paper version later in the year.)

That said, I am cognizant of overhype. Everett’s style won’t resonate with everyone and as with every single book I review, your own enjoyment of a story may vary from mine. But for me, James hit all the right notes and easily earned 5 stars.

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Big Time by Ben Winters

Ben Winters has, in a low-key way, turned into one of my must-read authors. His Last Policeman trilogy is a criminally underrated series in the apocalypse genre and Underground Airlines is a thought-provoking alternate history of a divided United States.

His newest creative imagining, Big Time, envisions an innovative (and frightening) technology which would allow the bending — and stealing — of time itself.

The points of view that Winters explore were really effective and enjoyable, alternating between one of the villains and a low-level FDA beaurocrat who reviews medical devices and stumbles on a big problem.

Though the characters themselves weren’t perfectly constructed (especially in comparison to Winters previous books), they were believable enough and served the story well. For me, what really kept the book humming was the fast-paced narrative. I desperately wanted to know what happened next, from the first chapter to the very last. It made for as fast a read as I’ve had all year.

His previous books have been more in the slow burn category, but Big Time fits more into the Black Crouch and Michael Crichton mold of techno-thriller. It’s not my favorite of his novels, but it was well worth blazing through in a weekend. If you need an entertaining new thrill-ride, check it out.

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Thanks so much for reading. I deeply appreciate the time and inbox space.

-Jeremy