Percival Everett is a prolific author – his 2001 book Erasure was recently adapted into the Oscar-winning film American Fiction. But his latest book, James, expands on a story readers around the world already know: Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn. In today's episode, Everett speaks with NPR's Andrew Limbong about why he wanted to reframe the classic novel from the perspective of the enslaved titular character, why he doesn't think of his new work as a direct response to Twain, and why he doesn't buy into the controversy surrounding the original.
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It is one of the most simple machines that most people use, yet incredible amounts of engineering go into their design.
They are used by billions of people around the world and it is one of the only forms of transportation available to children.
They can make humans incredibly efficient and their development was in many ways surprising.
I am of course talking about bicycles. Learn about the history of bicycles and how the modern version came to be on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.
Music
Un geant dans la mer and Triste soiree III from the score to Marie et les naufrages by the genius, Sebastian Tellier.
Love is Blue by Jackie Mittoo and the Soul Vendors.
Rocky Passage by Jeremiah Chiu and Marta Sofia Honer
Morris Visits Dr. Pratt from John Barry's score to The Wrong Box
Adios Muchachos from Andre Popp
Moonlight in Vermont from the great Dorothy Ashby.
Midnight Moon by The Portland Cello Project
Dance PM by Hiroshi Yoshimura
And we hear Blind Andy Jenkins' "Floyd Collins in Sand Cave" followed by Vernon Dalhart doing the same song under the name, "The Death of Floyd Collins." We also hear Jimmy Osbourne do Andy's, "The Death of Little Kathy Fiscus."
Notes
I have a note in my years-long running list of possible story ideas that says, "event songs," but I could never remember why. Then I was reading Charles Hirschberg and Mark Zwonitzer's, Will You Miss me When I'm Gone?: The Carter Family & Their Legacy in American Musicand was reminded of Andy's story (that book is great).
I also recommend the always-useful, Country Music USA, by Bill C. Malone for more on Andy and his era as well as Creating Country Music: Fabricating Authenticity by Richard A. Peterson.
If you want more about poor Floyd Collins, you could turn to Robert K. Murray and Roger W. Bruckner's, Trapped!: The Story of Floyd Collins.
Tessa Hulls' grandmother, Sun Yi, was a dissident journalist in Shanghai who faced intense political persecution during the Chinese Communist Revolution; she suffered severe mental distress after fleeing to Hong Kong. In today's episode, Hulls tells Here & Now's Scott Tong that her grandmother's trauma often cast a shadow over their family – one she had been running away from for years, and one she decided to finally face in her new graphic memoir, Feeding Ghosts. It's a reexamining of Hulls' matriarchal lineage, of Chinese history and of generational love and healing.
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Eight young women are competing at the 12th Annual Women's 18 and Under Daughters of America Cup, a boxing competition at the heart of Headshot. Each girl has her reasons for fighting her way to this ring in Reno, Las Vegas — and Rita Bullwinkel's debut novel is a searing look inside the mental and physical state of her protagonists. In today's episode, the author speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about how her own childhood as a polo player informed her writing, and why she chose to follow her characters way beyond their time in the ring.
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On the morning of August 27, 1883, one of the most destructive natural disasters of the 19th century occurred on the island of Java, in what is today the nation of Indonesia.
After weeks of low-level rumblings, a volcanic eruption totally obliterated the mountain that it had formed.
The devastation wasn’t limited to the immediate area around the volcano. The blast's effects literally affected the entire planet.
Learn more about the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa and its devastating impact on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
Christine Blasey Ford says the time leading up to her 2018 testimony in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee – and its aftermath – is a lot like surfing, venturing out into unknown waters. Her new memoir, One Way Back, recounts her experience coming forward with an accusation that Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her in the 1980s. In today's episode, Blasey Ford speaks with NPR's Michel Martin about why she originally wanted to avoid being in the public spotlight, but why she felt it was her civic duty to inform the country about what she'd gone through.
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Cutting across the state of Arizona is one of the wonders of the national world: The Grand Canyon.
The Grand Canyon draws attention not only for its overwhelming size and intricate and colorful landscape but also for the deep and exposed layers of Earth's history that are visible in its walls.
The history of the Grand Canyon is a fascinating combination of its geologic origins and its history of human use.
Learn more about the Grand Canyon, its origins, and its history with humans on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
2034, the first novel by Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis, chronicled a nuclear conflict between China and the U.S. Now, their sequel 2054 takes a look at the country two decades later. The President is suddenly assassinated giving a speech, which sparks a flood of conspiracy theories, digitally-altered images and horrifying technological discoveries. In today's episode, the authors speak with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about the relationship between technology and American institutions, and how destruction is sometimes an inevitable part of progress.
To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday