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Summary: A Lesson Worth Living For
Review: When I first started to read this book, I was a little aprehensive. Being an African-American, sometimes when I know that books deal with the oppression of my race, I frankly get upset and don't want to read it. This was not the case with "A Lesson Before Dying." Set during the 1940's in a segregated cajun community, this story is about overcoming barriers with others, but most importantly overcomming barriers within yourself. As Grant the protaganist of the story is faced with the task of educating Jefferson, a black male who is faced with the death penilty, due to a crime that he didn't commit. Grant does more than teach Jefferson to "be a man" in his last days,he teaches himself as well. Grant and Jefferson change their lives, and well as others, with the greatest lesson in life. "A Lesson Before Dying" is an excellent book to read for anyone, it causes you to look at yourself, discover the barriers you have with others, but mostly you discover the barriers within yourself, and soar to become a better person.
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Summary: The Gaines Formula Again
Review: If you read one book by Gaines, this should be it. If you have read one and would like to read another, don't. Gaines uses the same formula in all of his books- a main character who doesn't believe in God, the town of Bayonne (which always bores me; I have now had it described to me three times in the same way), and the absence of a father figure... This is one of Gaines's more emotional novels, but the feeling is kind of spoiled if you're too busy noticing his "chunky" writing style. Good luck.
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Summary: A Lesson for Me
Review: This book has been out for 10 years and I'm not sure how I missed it. Jefferson sits on death row after being involved in a robbery. It is irrelevant whether or not he is guilty since the story is about how he and his loved ones handle his last days. Even the most ardent supporter of capital punishment will think twice as Jefferson reacts to his godmother, his family and most importantly Grant, who becomes his spiritual advisor. Grant not only transforms Jefferson but is transformed himself as he visits Jefferson in prison. This emotional narrative is not a literary masterpiece but is well written, well structured and to the point. Well worth reading at only 250 pages. I love fiction like this. I don't know anyone who can read this book and not be changed. That is how strong it is. Fiction at its best.
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Summary: Horribly unoriginal
Review: An instant classic? Not one knew idea, stylistic device, or character was used. Yes, blacks in the South in the 1940s had it tough ... there is no need to remind us. Gaines did nothing to expand upon our knowledge of this, and if his intention was for greater equality, he failed miserably and only created more hate between the characters and/or the people who read this book. The writing was tediously simple; the language was drab and the sentences short and without variety. Many of the characters, with perhaps the exception of Jefferson, were romanticized. They were unable to think outside of even their small town. And I'm afraid to say, no great lessons were taught before dying. The plot was repetitive until the last couple chapters. The protagonist, Grant, visited Jefferson for weeks without any real conversation. To take us away from this boring reality, Gaines tells us over and over again how Grant was so upset things did "not go well in bed" for him and Viviane. The phrase must have been used two dozen times. The entire directionless and unoriginal book is more like a corny movie using ideas used a hundred times before.
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Summary: ...
Review: A wonderful book by Gaines! Although I rarely read fiction, I did quite enjoy this book.
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Summary: LESSONS OF LIFE YOU'LL NEVER FORGET
Review: Among the "must read" novels of all times, "A Lesson Before Dying" ranks at the very top of the list in that literary category. It is the type of reading that expands the bounds of the mind, strokes the soul, and tugs at the heart strings. At its conclusion you are left with a plethora of emotions and thoughts that linger for days and remain in your repertory of thought forever. It's one of those novels that you read and say,"Unbelieveable" as you wonder, when will the sequel be published? Ernest Gaines truly solidifies his position as one of the greatest writers ever with this novel. Gains transports you back to a time when the lines between justice and injustice, right and wrong, fair and unfair are obscured and ultimately crossed and broken by race, socio-economic status, prejudice and segregation. The reader is drawn into the lives of the characters on an intimate level through Gaines' masterful dialogue and vivid descriptive details. This is a novel that challenges the idea of "accepting the things you cannot change" and places a very original spin on the concept of "dying with dignity." "A Lesson before Dying" is a story that unfolds around the main character's final months on death row after being falsely accused of killing a white store owner during a time when the color of one's skin dictated just how "blind" justice will be. The lessons and realizations he, and those persons who hold a significant place in his life, must come to grips with before his death are heart-wrenching and life-altering. From the teacher who, under great duress, is forceably assigned the awesome task of "teaching" the main character the "lesson," to the reverend who collaborates with the teacher but from a completely different viewpoint on how the "lesson" should be taught, and the various other characters that vicariously impact upon and influenced the way in which the main character internalizes his plight, each of these characters are left with "lessons" that escalate to the riveting conclusion of this story. Ultimately each of these pivotal characters' lives are altered as a direct and proximate result of the main character's death sentence and the manner in which he learns to die with dignity. This is a story about self-respect, self-denial, self-sacrifice, self-esteem and self-defeat. It is a story of family, friends, authorities, and enemies and how they are integrally entwined to shape each other's lives. Written in a time when the constraints of racism and economic status divided and at the same time, drew together a community whose heartbeat came to pulsate in conjunction with the heart beat of the main character. Reading this novel in and of itself will prove to be "A Lesson" of memorable magnitude.
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Summary: Another great work by Ernest Gaines
Review: A Lesson Before Dying is a great book. In the 1940's, racism was an argument of everyday life for some people. This is the dark side of Louisiana's history the many people do not think about. Ernest Gaines describes the life of a black male, Jefferson, that was arrested for murder and put to the death penalty. Jefferson's family did not want to see him die as a hog , as most people saw him so they sent Grant Wiggins to get him dignity back so he can die like a many. The chapter that contain the journal is a very touching chapter, it shows an uneducated black man progress to becoming a man. This is a great book and I would suggest reading it.
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Summary: Oprah Has Good Taste
Review: Ernest Gaines' novel A LESSON BEFORE DYING is a fast paced, powerful novel that can reach readers on many levels. The book takes place in the segregated south of the 1940's. Grant Wiggins, a local educator, is too qualified to be teaching at the local school, but his possibilities are limited due to his race. He has big dreams, but is trapped due to the social conventions of his time. Since he is an educated person, the community expects a great deal from him, especially his grandmother and her friends. He is expected to try and help a young man named Jefferson, an African American who has been sentenced to death, die with the dignity he never had in life and much of the plot revolves around the decisions he has to make regarding Jefferson. The book could easily turn into a moralistic tale where a basically good person does the right thing simply because it is the right thing to do. Gaines avoids this route. Grant struggles with the expectations of others, his own religious beliefs, what he reasonably owes the community, as well as the normal struggles of any young person trying to find joy, happiness, love, and satisfaction in the world. We see in Grant a character who deserves our respect and admiration, not because he is superior, but rather because of the way in which he uses his strengths and wrestles with his own demons.
When the book was first published, I purchased quite a few copies for friends. It sat on their shelves until the book was part of Oprah's book club. Then it became a must read. Oprah had great taste in choosing this book.
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Summary: An Astonshing Achievement
Review: Ernest Gaine's A Lesson Before Dying is an astonishing achievemetn in American literature. The reader benefits from so much from the reading of the novel. The novel is not only written exceptionaly, but it is very interesting and the reader finds himself forming a relationship with the characters. The novel shows the relationship between Whites and Blacks in the old South. On Grant's voyage to help Jefferson we learn about his heroes and his struggle with reality and fiction. A Lesson Before Dying is also a spiritually finding book. Gaines novel teaches the greatest lesson learned is not in academics but in the friends we make.
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Summary: A Lesson Before Dying
Review: When I heard my humanities teacher tell the class on the first day we had to read A Lesson Before Dying I panicked. I hate to read. Throughout high school I always bought Spark Notes hoping they would help me pass a test on a book I decided not to read. Now being that I am a responsible college student I opened the book and started reading. After the first couple chapters I contemplated if I should finish reading this book or go back to my old self and get Spark Notes. For some reason I just kept with it and finish the book. Once I got in to it I found myself having trouble putting the book down. This book hooks the reader never letting them put it down until they have finished it. Ernest J. Gaines is a genius. This book gives us as readers a view of how it was to be a black man in the United States during the time of segregation. It's set in the south where segregation seemed a bigger issue than up north. Jefferson a young black male is accused of killing a white male and sentenced to death. Grant Wiggins, a schoolteacher, meets with Jefferson hoping to make him die a man and not a hog as most whites see him. The book journeys through all of Grants encounters with Jefferson. Slowly as the book progresses we begin to see a change in Jefferson. I encourage everyone to read this book.
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