James by Percival Everett

Zero to Well-Read

Riot New Media Group, Inc.

Arts, Books, Society & Culture

4.7 • 837 Ratings

🗓️ 21 April 2026

⏱️ 100 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Percival Everett won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for his novel James, a modern masterpiece that retells The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim, the enslaved man who accompanies Huck on his journey down the Mississippi River. This week, Jeff and Rebecca discuss what Everett does with Jim's interiority and intelligence that Twain couldn't, how the novel's central conceit literalizes W.E.B. Du Bois's theory of double consciousness, and how Everett pulled off making a book that is layered and intellectually rich into a genuine page-turner. Subscribe to our free newsletter, and become a member for access to early, ad-free listening and bonus content. Follow Zero to Well-Read on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Email us: zerotowellread@bookriot.com Thank you to ThriftBooks for being the presenting sponsor of this season of Zero to Well-Read! Zero to Well-Read is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network. Use code THEBOOKS for 20% off at Cozy Earth. Go to quince.com/bookriot for free shipping and 365-day returns. This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Zero to Well Read is sponsored by ThriftBooks.com.
0:03.5	Today's episode, we discussed James by Percival Everett, which is out now today, the release date,
0:09.8	April 21st, 2026 in paperback, and you can get new books on ThriftBooks.com and at a competitive
0:17.0	price. The sticker price for a paperback is 20 bucks for James with thriftbooks.com.
0:22.9	I'm looking at right now.
0:24.0	You get $3.52 off that.
0:26.7	Plus, if you're ordering that in the U.S., you're going to get free shipping and you're
0:30.8	going to get credit towards a free book credit as part of thriftbooks.com reading rewards
0:35.8	program.
0:36.7	Go check out thriftbooks.com for
0:38.7	James and everything else you might want to need to stock yourselves. Thanks for them for sponsoring
0:43.0	the show. All right, James, a modern classic. So excited. Let's go.
0:53.3	Welcome to Zero to Well Read, a podcast about everything you need to know about the books you wish you read.
0:58.0	I'm Jeff O'Neill.
0:59.1	And I'm Rebecca Shinsky.
1:00.5	Today we are discussing a modern masterpiece.
1:03.0	We're really excited about this.
1:04.7	It is Percival Everett's James, which is finally coming out in paperback this week.
1:10.6	This is maybe..., was the easiest call when we heard the book was coming out.
1:17.5	We knew Everett.
1:18.2	We heard the subject matter.
1:19.9	Even the Bookdale, which maybe we'll get into a little bit here.
	...

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