Dear fellow readers, At this week's National Book Awards, the fiction prize went to the novel that was tipped to win: "James," Percival Everett's dazzling reimagining of the "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." Our critic Dwight Garner wrote in his review that "it should come bundled with Twain's novel," and added, "It is a tangled and subversive homage, a labor of rough love." (If you've already read the book, listen to our book club discussion on our podcast.) The Times has been covering the National Book Awards since their debut in 1950, when the fiction prize went to Nelson Algren's "The Man With the Golden Arm," which was also the heavy favorite going in. The paper described it as "hard to read" and reported, "One of the judges, peppery, Irish-born Mary Colum, commented, 'Half of the books suggested for the prize should never have been published.'" If you have time, tell us what you're reading! (We may publish your response on our Letters page, or feature it in an upcoming newsletter.) You can email us at books@nytimes.com. Tina Jordan Like this email?
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Friday, November 22, 2024
The Book Review: Percival Everett wins the National Book Award for ‘James’
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