Percival Everett - James (2025)

 Robin’s choices

THEME: Afrocentric

We met on Monday 21 June 2025 to discuss Robin’s Afrocentric themed choices

READ: Percival Everett - James (2025)

James is a re-imagining of Mark Twain's classic, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but which shifts the perspective to Jim the enslaved man and thereby Everett transforms the entire story. 

HBG had read and discussed The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 13 years ago. 

Percival Everrett’s reimagining is narrated in the first person by James. This is the single most important difference. We get to experience the events from the perspective of the enslaved man, a perspective that was largely absent from the original. This shift allows for a much deeper and more complex exploration of the realities of slavery.

Robin stated this was his perfect book. He was blown away by how Everett's James is a man of incredible intelligence, wit, and intellect who has secretly taught himself to read and write and has an extensive knowledge of philosophy and literature, debating with himself in his mind about thinkers like Voltaire and John Locke.

Roland loved it. The simple fable story belied the book’s serious points and themes. Each encounter provides a different perspective. Both simple and profound

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is probably Hamish’s favourite book. Hamish lauded Percival Everett who he regards as a truly wonderful writer. He delicately treads the tightrope of respecting Twain's novel whilst tackling its greatest flaw as viewed through 21st century eyes. In doing so, he creates a modern classic that truly succeeds in adding to Twain's masterpiece. 

Nigel loved this reclamation of a classic narrative, giving a voice and a reality to a character who was silenced by history. A powerful, perceptive, passionate, angry, witty and memorable retelling of a classic American text. Percival Everett has really pulled off something special with this novel which is resolutely its own book.

Tristan admired the unflinching analysis of the horrific mental as well as physical hardships of being enslaved, and the introduction of a host of other characters, both sympathetic and, largely, not. And the plot twist was a stroke of genius.

Keith felt there was a lot of rafting and hiding out and catching catfish and yet there was still enough extra content that he felt he was getting a fresh view e.g the life of the minstrel, or the conditions of working in a sawmill. Percival Everett makes his point and makes it well but it still felt pretty straightforward in terms of wrapping one’s head around the content.

Nick was impressed by this sharp, satirical, and laugh out loud funny retelling of Twain’s much maligned classic. Everett manages to create a Boy’s Own page turner and a stinging social critique without either being compromised. Nick, no stranger to hyperbole, declared this The Greatest Book Club Book By A Country Mile

Nick 10 / Tristan 7.5 / Nigel 9 / Keith 7 / Roland 9 / Robin 9 / Hamish 10

LISTEN: The Fatback Band - Night Fever (1976)

Robin really likes Fatback and is off to see them at Koko soon and acknowledged that Night Fever, whilst good, is not peak Fatback

Nigel is also a Fatback fanboy who felt this was Fatback-by-numbers and in the shadow of the more compelling Fatback funk (e.g. gems like Wicky Wacky, I Found Lovin, Yum Yum, Do The Bus Stop, and Spanish Hustle).  

He also wondered how on Fatback managed to so completely screw up their cover of December 1963 Oh What A Night.

Roland enjoyed it but felt it was Fatback trying to get on board with the then fashionable disco sound.

Hamish doesn't mind a bit of 70s funk and felt this was decent but not a long lost classic. 

Nick felt this lacked the power of the other two selections, but that he would have to be wearing concrete boots not to get up and shake his thang to these tunes.

Keith described it as tight, talented but in no way timeless

Tristan started thinking “booooring”, then moved to "ok yeah somewhat funky” and concluded by wanting to know who exactly it was that stole the boogie, and why they hadn't been brought to justice?

Nick - / Tristan - / Nigel 2 / Keith - / Robin - / Hamish 7

Watch: Do the Right Thing (1989) dir by Spike Lee

Robin felt this was dated but still stands up. 

Hamish did not review.

Nick thinks this film is still a gut punch: vibrant, funny, unsettling, and distressingly as relevant today as it was when it was made with no easy answers

A masterpiece according to Tristan, complete with a brilliantly convincing and varied cast of characters, and the ambivalent portrayal of all the different ethnic groups. The heart-breaking ending is sadly just as relevant nowadays as it was 36 years ago.

Keith felt it had not aged well and felt a bit too innocent

Nigel had mixed feelings back in 1989 and they were still there following this rewatch. He feels Spike went on to make far better films. The old fashioned orchestral score and sickly red colour palette distract. Nigel acknowledged that its themes of racial tension, inequality and police brutality are sadly still all too relevant 

Roland begged to differ. He was immersed in the pressure cooker narrative and dubbed Spike’s film an absolute classic. 

Nick 10 / Tristan 9 / Nigel 5 / Keith - / Roland 10 / Robin 7 

ENDORSE IT 

HBG endorse it: 13 June 2025 - 20th July 2025

TV

Dept Q (Netflix)

Shifty (BBC iPlayer)

The Bear (Season 3) (Disney+)

Mix Tape (BBC iPlayer)

FILM

28 Years Later (2025) dir by Danny Boyle

Vita and Virginia (Prime) dir by Chanya Button

MUSIC

Antony Szmierek - Service Station At The End Of The Universe (2025)

Young Fathers - 28 Years Later OST (2025)

PODCASTS

The Bureau of Lost Culture 

John Higgs - The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band who Burned a Million Pounds

Nigel’s choices

THEME: Hail Eris! All Hail Discordia!

We met on Thursday 12 June 2025 to discuss Nigel’s choices around the theme Hail Eris! All Hail Discordia!

Robin, Nick, and Roland were unable to attend but all sent in reviews.

Nigel explained that he had recently been revisiting classic five star books he’d read before and finding the experience very rewarding. He decided to extend this idea to this HBG choice.

He had been blown away by The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band who Burned a Million Pounds (2015) by John Higgs when he first read it and thought it would make a suitable choice and which he hoped would hit the collective HBG sweet spot. 

It’s a pop biography for people who don’t read pop biographies. Higgs makes like Adam Curtis brainstorming all manner of magical thinking and conspiracy theories. Touching on Dada, Doctor Who and Discordianism, it’s as playful and unique as the KLF themselves.

Keen to avoid the obvious theme of The KLF, Nigel hit on the idea of Discordianism which would provide a coherent and humorous unifying theme and the opportunity for some interesting complementary choices.

*

READ: John Higgs - The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band who Burned a Million Pounds

Nigel fessed up that he is a massive fan of local boy John Higgs, has read all his books, and seen him give many talks. He’s a great hero to Nigel and an essential writer. 

Like all John’s books, The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band who Burned a Million Pounds uses its central subject as a jumping off  point into a bigger and much stranger world.

The KLF were the bestselling singles band in the world, garnered with awards, credibility, commercial success and creative freedom - and this despite being enigmatic, highly unorthodox and disruptive, Situationist-inspired, surreal, confusing, and deliberately anti-establishment. 

At the peak of their global success, they famously deleted all their records, erased themselves from musical history, and burnt their last million pounds in a boathouse on the Isle of Jura. And yet they couldn’t explain why.

The way Higgs tells it this is not just the story of The KLF. It is a story that embraces Carl Jung, Alan Moore, Robert Anton Wilson, Ken Campbell, Dada, Situationism, Discordianism, magic, chaos, punk, rave, the alchemical symbolism of Doctor Who, and the special power of the number 23, amongst many other things.

Second time round Nigel still loves this book. Here’s a few examples of made it so interesting and thought provoking:

Characters being in a story they don’t know they’re in

The human tendency to retrospectively and consistently create false narratives

The weird and wonderful history of Discordianism

The self reverential reality tunnels which trap us all to an extent. The menu is not the meal, the map is not the territory etc. Models are not the real world. We are free to use and discard contradictory models as circumstances change

The central question the book asks is were Jimmy Caulty and Bill Drummond attention seeking arseholes? Or did they came across the idea of burning a million quid in “idea space” (Alan Moore) or the “collective unconsciousness” (Carl Jung) and were so moved by it they had no choice but to act? Nigel thought Higgs makes a very convincing case for the latter. 

Hamish thought it was entertaining bollocks which he thoroughly enjoyed. Hamish has a lot of love for Bill Drummond primarily because of his connection to the peerless Liverpool music scene of the early 1980s.

Keith concluded John Higgs weaves a fabulous story and this was an engaging book with lots to follow up on.

Tristan diligently researched The KLF before getting stuck in, reminding himself of the Time Lords and some of The KLF's tunes and videos, including the infamous appearance at The Brits with Extreme Noise Terror. 

Tristan enjoyed the tangents that played with his head and emerged from the experience with a lot more sympathy towards Drummond and Caulty, and their motives for burning their final million quid, deleting all their music, and exiting the music business, souls still intact. He can really get behind fun non-fiction books. More please.

Roland was unimpressed. He felt that, by the end of the book, Higgs had delivered a story based on very little, full of conjecture and flights of fancy and which was ultimately quite boring. 

Robin felt this was a timely read as we arguably live in an age of Discordianism. He felt there was much to enjoy and appreciate, and concluded this is a thoroughly enjoyable book. He also intends to read The Manual in order to have his own number one single. 

Nick described the book as strange and pretentious, a bit like The KLF, however acknowledged that a regular music biography would not have done justice to the seriously weird story of Messrs Cauty and Drummond. Higgs is the Adam Curtis of the literary world, using the story of the KLF as a starting point into all manner of things, and populated by a cast of big thinkers and bonafide weirdos including the geniuses who are Alan Moore and were Ken Campbell. 

Nick now loves The KLF more than before he’d read this book. They threw away a glorious career and kept their dignity whilst burning a million quid. 

A great read

Nick 8.5 / Tristan 7.5 / Nigel 10 / Keith 9 / Roland 3 / Robin 8 / Hamish 7.5

*

LISTEN: Pixies - Surfer Rosa (1988)

Roland did not review Surfer Rosa.

Nigel remembered being blown away when John Peel played tunes from this and Come On Pilgrim. Instant love. He bought them both. Pixies really set the template for so much that was to follow in rock. Quiet introspection followed by explosive riffing and noise. Beauty and chaos, and those often surreal and ambiguous lyrics, meld to disconcert and leave the listener questioning and uneasy. 

Nick feels this album still sounds subversive and wonderful. What a band. Often copied, never bettered. As important as Brian Wilson.

Tristan found it loud and chaotic filled with noise and non-sequiturs. He knows of what he speaks. His brother insisted they both watch them at the Reading Festival. 

Robin has to be in the right mood.

Keith thinks this is a good album with its spare arrangements and powerful tunes.

Hamish bought this back in the day but didn’t get into it however 37 years on he thinks it sounds much better and really generates power.

All hail Pixies

Nick - / Tristan 6 / Nigel 8 / Keith - / Robin - / Hamish -

*

Watch: Fight Club (1999)

Like huge numbers of people, Nigel loved Fight Club when it came out but had not seen it since watching it in the cinema in 1999. 

After rewatching it, Nigel was delighted with how well it fits with the Discordian theme and wondered if the film's other themes had become even more relevant. For example, the film’s central critique about the emptiness of materialism and the pursuit of consumer goods, the narrator's disillusionment with his IKEA-filled life, Tyler Durden's anti-establishment rhetoric and how - in the modern world of Andrew Tate, toxic masculinity and incels - the film's portrayal of men seeking connection and purpose outside traditional norms. Not to mention mental health, isolation, and the dangers of extremism.

It’s also a visceral, wild ride of a viewing experience: the insomniac insurance drone haunting self-help groups for fatal illnesses until he encounters Tyler Durden the charismatic anarchist who invites him to move into his decrepit house leading to recreational fist-fights, and ultimately an underground masculinist movement.

Nick had completely forgotten the whole plot of the movie and so really enjoyed the twist again. He loved it all over again.

Robin loves Ed Norton and enjoyed the film

Keith called this great entertainment. Whilst not subtle this adrenaline filled film still stands up

Roland was generally underwhelmed and felt it was a bit superficial despite the wonderful fight choreography and scenes of urban terrorism. The malaise felt thin and Roland wondered what motivated the characters. More of a vehicle for Brad Pitt than anything more substantial.

Hamish felt the film's ideas are still relevant and overall it's good despite also being a little unsubtle and occasionally clunky.

Tristan did not have a chance to rewatch so was relying on his memories from 1999. He has fond memories and intends to rewatch it given the group’s positivity.

Nick - / Tristan - / Nigel 9 / Keith 7 / Roland 4 / Robin 7 / Hamish -

*

ENDORSE IT 

HBG endorse it: 8 May 2025 - 12 June 2025

Some music…

Spoiler - Baloji

The Fatback Band - (Are you Ready) Do the Bus Stop

The Pill - Mullet

Amadou and Mariam (RIP Amadou)

Pulp - More (2025)

MUBI - the film streaming channel

The Ballad of Wallis Island (Film)

Empire (History Podcast) - episodes about Ireland

Geoff Robb (Robin’s guitarist pal) - see website for gigs

Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants To Live Forever (Netflix)

Martin Parr and JJ Waller Exhibition at Hove Museum - Free entry. Ends 14 Sept 25 (Photography)

The Rehearsal (Sky Comedy)