A Gathering of Old Men

Rating:
Summary: A fantastic novel
Review: Masterful. Three scenes stand out. In the first the eighteen black men discuss how their lives had been affected by "progress" or the exploitation of their land. They had lost touch with their roots and essentially become shells of their former selves. In the second scene the father of the murdered man consults his two living sons on how best to proceed. The father feels that to sit back and let the law take its course would be to allow for the destruction of his family. In the third and most powerful scene a city man tries to explain to several Klansmen how the South has changed.

There's no hiding the fact that Gaines thinks he's Faulkner. There's the same complicated voice, the same introduction of too many characters, the same obsession with the South, and the same jumping from scene to scene. Although Gaines isn't Faulkner and shouldn't pretend to be, the book is nevertheless stunning and (unlike Faulkner) readable.