Rating: 
Summary: Ernest Gaines: A Master Storyteller
Review: This novel pulls off an impossible feat by engaging readers in a historical journey through masterful storytelling. A tale of the life of a woman who was born into slavery and reborn into a life of freedom, forced to pioneer the way alone, could not be described by historians. The job is left to one who experienced this emotional, monumental task, the beloved character of Miss Jane. How easily one forgets this character's voice speaks through the mind of author Ernest Gaines, a man who understands the subtletites of this woman's plight, including her inability to conceive children as a result of beatings, and her maternal feelings toward the orphaned Ned, whom she raised after his mother was killed by soldiers, with she and Ned hiding nearby. How is it possible for Mr. Gaines to capture the essence of this amazing woman with such dimension? Miss Jane speaks to the reader as a young guest; she is at once your elder, you are the privileged listener, so set aside your afternoon. You will almost feel her eyes upon you as she explains how she lived and worked as a slave; you will admire her strength when she talks about chopping cotton in the hot sun for hours - as you sit, comfortable and pampered, reading a book. You will be bewildered by her perseverance, tromping through swamps with a young child, searching for a safe haven after she was "freed", knowing that although Jane is not an actual person, that freed slaves had to survive this test, a test most of us could not even imagine. Her dialect, you will come to understand, through grammatically incorrect, does not undermine her wisdom; a proper speaker could be far more ignorant. Through Ernest Gaines you will meet a woman that will enrich you, and though the stories of so many like her are lost, through her, their trials and legacies live on, and come to something -when we remember, respect, and listen to Miss Jane.
Rating:
Summary: 100 years of struggle and triumph
Review: This well-crafted novel is written as an editor's transcription of the oral memoirs of Jane Pittman, a 110-year old woman and former slave who reminisces about her life and times. Miss Jane, in her rambling, often opinionated, but always endearing narrative style, not only tells her life story but also that of the history of the black people from slavery up to their struggles for civil rights in the 1960s. Around ten years old when freed from slavery, Jane decides to head to Ohio to find the friendly Yankee soldier who was kind to her when his troop passed through. Although she never gets out of Louisiana, she saves a young boy, taking him under her wing when the Confederate soldiers slaughter his mother, and sets off to find a better life for the two of them. Along with the other newly freed slaves, she deals with problems in finding shelter, jobs, and education. As she ages, she becomes the matriarch of her community, and in that role provides support, inspiration, and commonsense guidance to others as they seek their rightful place in society. Jane is a colorful character with lots of spirit and determination. Her story is full of humor, wisdom, and irony. The emphasis of the book shifts about halfway through from Jane herself to the story of the people that pass through her life. Some chapters depart from the main story to cover a particular person or incident she observes. She discusses the discrimination and violence the blacks faced in the south. She is witness to the relationship between blacks and whites, including a doomed love interest. She chronicles civil rights advances and mentions the efforts of such black leaders as Washington, Douglass, and King. She speaks of the Freedom Riders and civil rights marches. One clever chapter digresses to discuss one of the floods in her town that was caused, according to Jane, by man's egotistical notion that he can change the course of rivers. Because the story covers 100 years of Jane's recollections, time passes quickly in some spots, leaving large gaps of time missing from her life. I found it was sometimes difficult to determine how old she was when a new chapter began and how far forward time had passed. In spite of this, the novel is educational, entertaining, and uplifting, and would be an excellent book to teach older children about black history. Eileen Rieback
Rating:
Summary: Two simple words, everyone dies!
Review: Well, I had to read this book for a school assighnmanet. I thought it was very good, it told you alot about what happened during those times, but it didn't put it in a way that a history book would. it was really moving, i acctully felt i was with the characters and feeling the same things that they did. Like when ned deid, i cried. i loved it so much, that i couldn't put it down, i was the first one done with the book. Well when we were discussing the book and it's events, everyone had the same comment, Two simple words, every one dies. although i didn't quite aggree, i just felt i had to metion it, cause well most of the people died. The only part that i didn't like was how it ended, it didn't leave you with anything, it just stated that she walked past him. I do get the piont of that, but i think it could have had some more of a sort of clousure to it. But overrall i thought it was remarable book, and i am glad that i had to read it, cause i wouldn't have normally picked it up otherwise.
|
