the last book I ever read (James: A Novel by Percival Everett, excerpt six)

from James: A Novel by Percival Everett:

“Kin you tell me the fastest way to the Mississippi?”

“The Mississippi River,” the man said. “The Big Muddy, the Big River, Ol’ Man River, Old Blue. What you goin’ do with a river, son? It’s wet and big and deep. That’s where I lost my wife and my money on a riverboat called the Chester. The Mississippi River. Who wants the river?”

“I do,” Huck said.

“The Gathering of Waters. The Mississippi. Who wants to know?”

“I do, mister.”