Recent Reviews
James by Percival Everett
Percival Everett’s most recent novel, James, is brilliant. The premise is provocative and perfect. Everett has reimagined Jim, the enslaved character from Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and renamed him James. James’ intelligence and compassion burst from the pages. He has secretly read many of the books from his owner’s library. His reading and writing has made him more insightful than the white people with whom he must interact.
James speaks with perfect grammar and erudition as do many of his fellow slaves. His knowledge of writers and philosophers is extensive. Yet to protect themselves, he and his friends revert to “slave talk” when white people approach. James says,“My change in diction alerted the rest to the white boy’s presence.”
As in Twain’s novel, Huck is running away from his violent father while James is fleeing because he fears he will be sold. He hopes to escape to a “free state” and earn enough money to buy his wife and daughter’s freedom. And thus, Huck and James embark on a dangerous and revealing raft ride on the Mississippi River.
The story illuminates the revolting behavior and attitudes of white people who often project their own inferiority onto the slaves they own. James should be read in conjunction with Huckleberry Finn or maybe instead of Huckleberry Finn. Highly recommend 5/5.
The Altar of the Dead by Henry James
Recently, a friend recommended Henry James’ short story, ‘The Altar of the Dead.’ Once I began, I was riveted. James knows his way around the tunnels and labyrinths of the human psyche. And his skill at translating these insights into the written word is stunning. In under 50 pages, he illuminates the raw and complicated emotions dwelling inside his characters.
Written in 1895, the story opens in London. The mood is melancholy, the setting dark and the protagonist’s character pensive. George Stransom’s wife-to-be Mary had died many Decembers past. Their wedding day never happened. George is haunted by her loss and the fervent desire to keep her alive in his memory. In a moment of inspiration, George conceives of an altar lighted with perpetual candles for Mary and his other friends who have passed. As a balm for his soul, he assigns an altar candle to each friend who had died. “He had perhaps not had more losses than most men, but he had counted his losses more; he hadn’t seen death more closely but had in a manner felt it more deeply. This suited his inclination, it satisfied his spirit, it gave employment to his piety.”
One day, he notices the presence of a woman at his altar who appears to be in mourning. They eventually speak and their intricate story unfolds. The story’s suspense derives more from the internal turmoil experienced by George and this woman more than any external event.
Though this book is about the rituals of remembering the dead, this story reveals how people navigate the steep hills of forgiveness and redemption among the living. “The Altar of the Dead’ is writing at its best. 5/5
Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf
‘Our Souls at Night’ by Kent Haruf is a tender and touching novel. I love the book’s title and the implied double meaning. Like Haruf’s other five first-rate novels, this story occurs in the small fictitious town of Holt, Colorado. It is a beautiful meditation on the emotional isolation of aging. Haruf’s writing is intimate while reserved and simple, while nuanced.
The book’s plot is straightforward. Widow Addie Moore knocks on the door of her widower neighbor Louis Waters. Addie says to Louis, “I wonder if you would consider coming to my house sometimes to sleep with me. I mean we’re both alone. We’ve been by ourselves for too long. For years, I’m lonely. I think you might be too.” Addie’s bold proposal is not about sex, but rather a hope for companionship. Addie and Lucas are in their 70s and keenly aware that they have fewer years ahead of them than behind. Loneliness has been a constant companion since their spouses died and their children moved away.
The next day Louis calls Addie, “I’d like to come over tonight if that is still alright.”
And the story of Addie and Lucas’ adventure begins.
Night after night, they lay next to one another sharing the stories of their lives. The joys and delights, the mistakes and regrets. They discuss their deceased spouses, careers, grown children, and Addie’s grandson. They are not interested in what their lives have meant in a larger existential way. Rather the dynamic between Lucas and Addie initially feels like a therapist and a patient or a clergy member and a parishioner. Addie and Lucas don’t apologize or analyze their pasts. They do not express their regrets in teary confessions of self-flagellation, but rather they state the truths of their lives. And the sharing of their souls becomes healing because there is no judgment. Lucas and Addie respond to each other’s stories with empathy.
It is not all smooth sailing. Unresolved dynamics with adult children emerge and petty small-town gossip grows. Nonetheless, Addie and Lucas grow fond of one another and even come to love one another. Their connection is both ordinary and sacred.
This book is about grace, tenderness, vulnerability, and maybe even forgiveness. Most important, their companionship makes them happy. I wish the ending were different, but it is probably realistic. Kent Haruf died in Nov. 2014. His writing about the human condition will be missed. Though I appreciated all his books, the love, and grace in ‘Our Souls at Night’ makes this novel my favorite.
