Ernest J. Gaines A Lesson Before Dying

Last updated: October 29, 2019

Ernest J. Gaines A Lesson Before Dying
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We looked at the top Oprah Book Club Books and dug through the reviews from some of the most popular review sites. Through this analysis, we've determined the best Oprah Book Club Book you should buy.

Overall Take

This story about a young black man sentenced to the electric chair for a murder he didn't commit tackles antebellum attitudes and racial tension. Its lessons are, unfortunately, still poignant today.

In our analysis of 63 expert reviews, the Ernest J. Gaines A Lesson Before Dying placed 3rd when we looked at the top 7 products in the category. For the full ranking, see below.

From The Manufacturer

From the author of A Gathering of Old Men and The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman comes a deep and compassionate novel, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award. A young man who returns to 1940s Cajun country to teach visits a black youth on death row for a crime he didn’t commit. Together they come to understand the heroism of resisting.

Expert Reviews


What experts liked

Another wonderful read by Gaines. Gaines is an author to be trusted, he knows exactly how to handle his reading audience. He sure can stir the emotions but he also stirs the mind.
"This majestic, moving, novel is an instant classic, a book that will be read, discussed and taught beyond the rest of our lives." — Chicago Tribune
Gaines's first novel in a decade may be his crowning achievement. In this restrained but eloquent narrative, addresses some of the major issues of race and identity in our time.
A powerful and moving novel which touches on man's inhumanity, but also allows us to witness small acts of humanity from the most unexpected sources. This book presents many moral dilemmas, and challenges the reader to experience a time and place in African American history that is all too real even today.
By containing unbearably painful emotions within simple declarative sentences and everyday speech rhythms, Gaines has written a novel that is not only never maudlin, but approaches the spare beauty of a classic.
A novel that celebrates the moral heroism of two black men.
Gaines paints a compelling portrait of the two men, locked in a struggle to obtain the dignity of manhood, before it’s too late.
A deep and compassionate novel about a young man who returns to 1940s Cajun country and visits a black youth on death row for a crime he didn’t commit. Together they come to understand the heroism of resisting. This was the winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award.
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Gaines's novel details what happens after Jefferson, a Black man, is the only survivor of a shooting that left one white store owner killed. Oprah announced this selection in 1997.

What experts didn't like

I'm really ashamed to say that I didn't like this book, as it is a greatly valued and important piece of literature. However, I just didn't.
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