A LESSON BEFORE DYING
by Ernest J. Gaines
Anstett Book Club recommendation from Barbara
Lechner
For my next book club
recommendation, I have chosen A Lesson Before Dying, written in 1993 but
set in the 1940's, about the arrest and trial of a black man in the Cajun
south.
I thought it was rather timely
due to the recent not guilty verdict of George Zimmerman in Florida that
subsequently led to a national outcry of African Americans that justice had not
been served since the other party in the event was a black man. While I do not
wish to project my opinions of the event, trial, and outcome, I do think this
book might shed light on why the African American community was outraged. There
is a very long history of racism, both brutal and subtle, in our country –
whether it's the south or the north – that has woven a fabric of mistrust so
deeply imbedded in the African American heart and mind that what happened in
this Florida case could not be seen any other way by that group of citizens.
In “A Lesson Before Dying” a
black man named Jefferson is an unwitting party to a liquor store shootout in
which three men are killed. He is convicted of murder and sentenced to death.
Grant Wiggins, a teacher and a black man, is urged by his aunt and Jefferson's
godmother to impart his learning and pride to Jefferson. In the end, the two
men forge a bond.
This book is so well written
that you just seem to fall into the times.
Ernest James Gaines
(born January 15, 1933) is an African-American author. His works have been
taught in college classrooms and translated into many languages, including
French, Spanish, German, Russian and Chinese. Four of his works have been made
into television movies.One of them was The Authobiography of Miss Jane
Pittman.(For those of you younger than 50 – this was a very popular TV
event with Cicely Tyson.)
You can purchase this book
from Amazon.com or find it at your local library or bookstore.
I hope you like it as much as I did.
