Mechanics' Hall Book Discussion Group (February)

The Mechanics’ Hall Book Discussion group meets to chat about books by exceptional thinkers and artists.

Everyone is welcome, and ongoing attendance is not required. The group is free for Mechanics' Hall Members.

Curious about the group but not a Mechanics' Hall member? You're invited to stop by! If you like what you hear, consider becoming a member.

FEBRUARY BOOK SELECTION

Everett, Percival, James (2024)

Mark Twain's 'Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' as told from the perspective of a more resourceful and contemplative Jim than the one you remember.

This isn’t the first novel to reimagine Twain’s 1885 masterpiece, but the audacious and prolific Everett dives into the very heart of Twain’s epochal odyssey, shifting the central viewpoint from that of the unschooled, often credulous, but basically good-hearted Huck to the more enigmatic and heroic Jim, the Black slave with whom the boy escapes via raft on the Mississippi River. As in the original, the threat of Jim’s being sold “down the river” and separated from his wife and daughter compels him to run away while figuring out what to do next. He's soon joined by Huck, who has faked his own death to get away from an abusive father, ramping up Jim’s panic. “Huck was supposedly murdered and I’d just run away,” Jim thinks. “Who did I think they would suspect of the heinous crime?” That Jim can, as he puts it, “[do] the math” on his predicament suggests how different Everett’s version is from Twain’s. First and foremost, there's the matter of the Black dialect Twain used to depict the speech of Jim and other Black characters—which, for many contemporary readers, hinders their enjoyment of his novel. In Everett’s telling, the dialect is a put-on, a manner of concealment, and a tactic for survival. “White folks expect us to sound a certain way and it can only help if we don’t disappoint them,” Jim explains. He also discloses that, in violation of custom and law, he learned to read the books in Judge Thatcher’s library, including Voltaire and John Locke, both of whom, in dreams and delirium, Jim finds himself debating about human rights and his own humanity. With and without Huck, Jim undergoes dangerous tribulations and hairbreadth escapes in an antebellum wilderness that’s much grimmer and bloodier than Twain’s. There’s also a revelation toward the end that, however stunning to devoted readers of the original, makes perfect sense. One of the noblest characters in American literature gets a novel worthy of him.

[Kirkus Reviews]

FULL LIST OF SELECTIONS

October 9: Dividing Lines: How Transportation Infrastructure Reinforces Racial Inequality by Deborah Archer (2025)

November 4: How to Build a Boat by Elaine Feeney(2023)

December 2: The Last Whaler by Cynthia Reeves (2024)

January 6: One Goal: A Coach, a Team, and the Game that Brought a Divided Town Together by Amy Bass (2018)

February 3: James by Percival Everett(2024)

March 3: The CIA Book Club: The Secret Mission to Win the Cold War with Forbidden Literature by Charlie English (2025)

May 5: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (2022)

PARKING & TRANSPORTATION

Mechanics’ Hall is located at 519 Congress Street. Our main entrance is between Loquat Shop and the Art Mart. The Greater Portland Metro’s Congress & Casco Street Stop is directly in front of our building, served by routes 1, 7, 8, and 9B.

Parking is available at the Arts District Garage, which has entrances on Casco and Brown Street, with a rate of $5 per hour. Metered street parking is available on Congress, Casco, Cumberland, Free Street, and other nearby streets. Free hourly street parking is available between Parris and Alder Street.

ACCESSIBILITY

To enter our building, patrons will need to navigate a single step. There is a wheelchair-accessible elevator and a ramp available upon request.

If you have a wheelchair or need accessibility accommodations/questions please contact us at programming@mainemechanics.org or 207-773-8396.