My first thought on reading this retelling of Huckleberry Finn from Jim's point of view was "Why has no one done this before? And why have none of the white people who have revered Huck's story ever thought to deeply consider the way Jim's character is portrayed?" Praise …more the Lord for Percival Everett then! His use of dark humor to describe the way slaves had to disguise themselves to escape the scorn and brutality of the white people around them -- and the deep intelligence and thoughtful curiosity, as well as the strength and profound resilience of slaves like James who were somehow able to survive their narrow, pinched world views, makes James easily the best book I read in 2024! (And if you haven't read The Trees, about two black detectives in Alabama working to solve a series of mysterious lynchings -- make that next on your list! (less)

This beautifully written and masterfully crafted novel lets us in to the inner world of Mamush, a struggling international journalist who must leave his wife and ill toddler in Paris to return to DC for the holidays, only to learn that Samuel, the father figure of his life …more and a cab driver, has committed suicide. We learn of his irregular trip, which takes him first to Chicago where he was raised by his single mother and Samuel, both immigrants from Ethiopia.

While in Chicago for a day, Mamush, whom we learn was a quiet and accommodating child who could make himself seem invisible when needed, tries to fill in some of the many blank spaces in his childhood. He then is driven by a chain of cab drivers back across the country to DC, the last leg of the trip driven by Samuel. We jump back and forth between this journey and Mamush attending the Samuel's wake in his DC suburban home. We learn that Mamush has often had difficulty determining what is and isn't real, as we as readers try to understand what parts of the story may also not be real.

Like much of Mamush's communication with his parents, and even with his wife, a photographer whose photographs also appear in the book, the story is told "on the slant" and ends up working on several different levels. I found it all a very moving description of the disappointment so many immigrants must live with in this country, and the strange "in-between" world their children must inhabit. (less)

The powerful, deeply compassionate story of a young Tamil woman in Sri Lanka, working to become a doctor and keep her humanity in the midst of a growing civil war between the unjustly and often brutally treated Tamil minority and the Sri Lankan government. I was woefully …more ignorant of this violent war waging for almost three decades of my life, and found the careful way this story was told deeply enlightening. The growth of Sashi's courage is truly inspiring, especially in these times when many of us are needing to find the courage to stand up against the destruction of our own democracy. I will recommend this beautifully written book to everyone I know! (less)

The journey of Adina, sent to earth as a baby to report on human life on earth by beings on her planet looking for a new home, is one of the most imaginative, wondrous novels I have read in many years. Her childhood observations, faxed to her superiors, and their matter of …more fact replies, are full of poetic humor. I can't imagine that any human
who lives on earth would not love this book! (less)