‘James’ Selected as Duke Common Experience Reading

The Percival Everett novel has received a National Book Award and a Pulitzer Prize

James by Percival Everett

“At that moment the power of reading made itself clear and real to me. If I could see the words, then no one could control them or what I got from them. They couldn’t even know if I was merely seeing them or reading them, sounding them out or comprehending them. It was a completely private affair and completely free and, therefore, completely subversive.” – James by Percival Everett

“James,” by Percival Everett, has been selected as the Duke Common Experience reading for the summer of 2025. “James” retells Mark Twain’s American classic, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” from Jim’s perspective. Filled with humor and satire, James offers the world a chance to hear from the beloved and often overlooked character. Everett’s novel has quickly become a modern classic for which he has received the National Book Award in 2024 and the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. 

A part of new curriculum & events

“James” speaks to issues of identity and language; the love of power and the power of love; the stories we tell ourselves and the secrets we keep from each other,” said Candis Watts Smith, interim vice provost for undergraduate education. “By selecting Everett’s work, we hope to deepen our appreciation for texts that have a way of, at once, challenging us and bringing us together as a community, both of which are much needed today.” 

Duke’s Common Experience welcomes the Duke community, students, staff, and faculty to engage in intellectual dialogue around a singular title. As a welcoming gift, all incoming Duke first-year students in Pratt and Trinity will receive the book this summer and, throughout the year, it will be included in panels, lectures and discussions. This year, as Trinity College of Arts & Sciences launches a new curriculum, it will integrate “James” into orientation sessions, Constellations, and Focus programming. The larger Duke community will also be able to connect on James’ themes in public events.

”By selecting Everett’s work, we hope to deepen our appreciation for texts that have a way of, at once, challenging us and bringing us together as a community, both of which are much needed today.”

Candis Watts Smith, Interim Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education

This acclaimed novel invites readers into discussions around narrative structure, point of view, and cultural complexity. Many students are already familiar with Twain’s classic and have studied antebellum American history. Everett’s novel provides a fresh, layered, and complex counter-story to “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” The Duke Common Experience program believes “James” will be an engaging read for the Duke community. 

“Whether you have read Huckleberry Finn or not, ‘James’ is a captivating novel that will raise deeper questions of agency, narrative and divergent perspectives,” said Ben Adams, the senior associate dean for QuadEx. “We hope students will see it as an enjoyable and memorable first assignment. We can’t wait to see the campus-wide conversation that grows from this lovable novel.” 

This year, the Office of Undergraduate Education leads the Duke Common Experience program in collaboration with the Division of Student Affairs and Duke Libraries. Previous year’s books include All We Can Save, (2024) “The Measure” by Nikki Erlick (2023), “Point of Reckoning” by Ted Segal (2022), “Such a Fun Age,” by Kiley Reid (2021) and “Know My Name” by Chanel Miller (2020).