Rating: 
Summary: Not sure exactly what the lesson was?
Review: Though my interest was kept in the book, I found some of the love relationship without much significance. Characters could have been defined more. On Oprah's show, she asked audience members if they "got the lesson". Well I know the prisoner became a man before he died, but I can't quite grasp the lesson. Is it because of Grant's injustice that he experienced. Does that mean he can teach a "hog" to be a man. Maybe it does, but I missed the real true lesson and haven't read any review that will define it.
Rating: 
Summary: This book was one of the best I've read
Review: I am a 16 year old girl who started this book knowing it would deal with alot of heavy subject matter. I was expecting not to like it but I read it any way because OPRAH liked it so much! It took me 2 hours to read this book, once i started i couldn't put it down. This book has made me open my eyes to things i've never known before and i thank Mr. Gaines for helping me.
Rating: 
Summary: Passable handling of subject matter done better elsewhere
Review: I was eager to read this book after reading rave reviews, but in the end was disappointed with the author's fragmented story-lines and character development which too often dead ended before satisfying my curiosity. I appreciated the authors insights and development of intra-racial issues between Grant, Jefferson, Vivian and the other inhabitants of the plantation. Jefferson's diary and Paul's visit to the school house are powerful images that are well told by the author. Overall, however, "To Kill a Mockingbird" far out shines this book's handling of the subject matter -- and it was told from a white perspective. Nice try, but no cigar.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best book about Heroism I've read in a long time.
Review: The characters in this story come to life, with vivid details of heroism and bravery. Grant, although reluctant to become involved in the task which his aunt and Miss Emma has set forth for him, becomes a hero in this story. In the story, Grant gives a definition of a hero. Grant says that a hero is someone who is willing to do for others. Jefferson, and Grant both fit the mold. Jefferson, was hero by forgetting about the injustice that had been brought upon him. He forgot about the ills of the society and reformed himself to become a hero not only to his family, but to the whole community. Grant became a hero, by default. Once he got pass his inhibitations, he helped Jefferson to die with dignity. This is a book that should be passed down through the generations.
Rating:
Summary: overrated, way overrated
Review: I'm not quite finished with the book, so perhaps reviewing it now isn't fair, but I'm quite disappointed with it. The subject matter is compelling, as are the opening scenes and the descriptions of interactions between blacks and whites during the late 1940s. But once the situation is set up (I won't give it away), things become awfully repetitive and predictable, like a bad TV movie. The supposed romantic interplay between the main character and his girlfriend seems out of left field, and their dialogue jaw-droppingly dumb. I'd compare Gaines' attempts at romantic dialogue to Steven King's attempts at writing non-gory scenes. Just plain bad. I wish this book were an "instant classic," because some of its messages -- including one to white folks like me that the sullen anger and suspicion that some blacks feel toward whites is well founded in history -- deserve to be read by a wide audience. Many whites in those days saw any sign of black intelligence and desire for equality as a terrible threat that had to be quashed. Also, for such an honored book, the writing should be at a higher level, and this is ninth grade writing. I wish this book was better. I'd recommend instead "The Color of Water" for a different but much more effective take on a similar subject.
Rating:
Summary: Riveting book that challenges you to think!
Review: I picked up this book not only because it was on Oprah's reading list but because it was centered in the South and dealt with the death penalty. Mr. Gaines really makes you come to grips with the effects of segregation on all peoples, both black and white. What a devasting statement he has made by writing "A Lesson Before Dying" without having to preach all the negative impacts segregation has had on our society as a whole. That men and women can rise above what has been dished out truly speaks to mankind's resiliency, greater nature and desire to live. This book could easily be used in U.S. history courses covering this sad era in America.
Rating:
Summary: I'm not done yet...
Review: I'm not even done yet with this powerful novel, but I scanned through the comments here. Everyone I saw commented on the emotional issues of the book which are tremendous, but I haven't seen one word on the masterful writing. Gaines's words are measure-by-measure, step-by-step; the sentences are almost simple in a way. What does this remind you of? To me it's just like the step-by-step, inch-by-inch rhythm one would take to meet an execution. There is an obvious control to this type of writing. It's perfect for the story. The book spares detail. Think of how he describes his lover, Vivian. There's not a lot of sensual language, but we can see how beautiful she is. The lack of detail, the exact and abbreviated vocabulary make this superior writing. I have not touched on the emotional aspects of this work. I'll leave that to everyone else, but Gaines's ability with words makes him a real craftsman. What a WRITER!
Rating:
Summary: Simple facts about the death penalty, touching the heart.
Review: This story is simply but profoundly told. It has the artistic quality of waking us up and silently provoking us to ask serious questions. The man who is to die is a quiet, inexpressive man who worked very hard from childhood. His complicity in the murder for which he is sentenced is fuzzy. As we read of his meetings with those who care to see him, we begin to appreciate the unique spark within him. We touch his spirit and are drawn into the tragedy of the day on which the electric chair is brought into his town, carefully set up, and made ready so he may be shaved and strapped into it. Then this man, whom we have grown to know and to love, is killed by a righteous state. Or is it righteous?
Rating:
Summary: The book was wonderful and I recommend it to anyone
Review: I really enjoyed the book. It gave a clear picture of what the South was like and how racism still exists today. The ending was sad but true.
Rating:
Summary: What Would You Teach a Dying Man?
Review: What if you were a young man wrestling with the day to day reality of trying to be a man in the segregated South? What if you had no idea how to be a man under these terms? What if you were called upon to teach another how to die with a man's dignity? A dignity that your own life is lacking. What would you teach them? That is the central question in A Lesson Before Dying. This book is disturbing and beautiful in the starkness of the pain it exposes.
|
