It seems as though I may have underestimated the writing in the book "James" as I see in this Sunday's newspaper that it won the Pullitzer prize for fiction:
‘James’ wins the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in fiction - The Washington Post
‘James’ wins the Pulitzer Prize for fiction
Percival Everett’s novel was honored at the 2025 awards, along with other books in the categories of fiction, general nonfiction, memoir, poetry, history and biography.