Jim: The Life and Afterlives of Huckleberry Finn's Comrade (Audiobook)
by Shelley Fisher Fishkin, narrated by Alvin Richardson
The origins and influence of Jim, Mark Twain’s beloved yet polarizing literary figure
Mark Twain’s Jim, introduced in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), is a shrewd, self-aware, and enormously admirable enslaved man, one of the first fully drawn Black fathers in American fiction. Jim is also a highly polarizing figure: he is viewed as an emblem both of Twain’s alleged racism and of his opposition to racism; a diminished character inflected by minstrelsy and a powerful challenge to minstrel stereotypes; a reason for banning Huckleberry Finn and a reason for teaching it; an embarrassment and a source of pride for Black readers.
Eminent Twain scholar Shelley Fisher Fishkin probes these controversies, exploring who Jim was, how Twain portrayed him, and how the world has responded to him. Fishkin also follows Jim’s many afterlives: in film, from Hollywood to the Soviet Union; in translation around the world; and in American high school classrooms today. The result is Jim as we have never seen him before—a fresh and compelling portrait of one of the most memorable Black characters in American fiction.
©2025 Shelley Fisher Fishkin. Written and produced by Shelley Fisher Fishkin. Narrated by Alvin Richardson.
About the Author
Shelley Fisher Fishkin is a leading scholar of Mark Twain, race, and American literature and is the author or editor of more than forty books. Jim has been celebrated as a transformative contribution to American literary and cultural studies. She is the Joseph S. Atha Professor in Humanities at Stanford University, where she is a Professor of English, and by courtesy, of African and African American Studies.
About the Narrator
Alvin Richardson is a celebrated musician, performer, and producer whose career includes Grammy, Dove, and Stellar Award nominations. Beyond his artistic work, he is deeply committed to racial reconciliation and community leadership. His narration of Jim represents a rare and resonant partnership at the intersection of art, history, and social justice.
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Audiobook Cover | Book Cover | Author Headshot | Narrator Headshot
For review copies, interview requests with Shelley Fisher Fishkin or Alvin Richardson, or further information, please contact:
Ellen Yang, Publicist
Punctuation PR
ellen@punctuation-pr.com