A Lesson Before Dying: A Novel | 
pickSet in the 1940′s, this is a remarkable story that highlights the lack of justice during that time (even though the justice system today has a LONG way to go). This book shows how important it is to stay true to yourself. To never give someone else the opportunity to take and shatter your personal dignity; that you came into this world alone and, unavoidably, you will leave the exact same way. Book #69 in 2021
pickI read this book before I went to college. Before I knew of the actual injustices that were beyond my small, white, middle class suburb. Reading this over twenty years later in 2021, knowing what I know now breaks my heart even more than it possibly could have at 18. We need to end the racist system of the death penalty.
I found a copy of this for $1 at a thrift store so I‘m re-reading it for the first time in like 20 years. I‘m not doing a great job of finding casual “poolside reading” this summer, but it‘s 2021 and we‘ve survived a pandemic so here we are 🤷♀️
pickThis has been on my short list for quite a while - a very powerful (and timely) book.
pickIt was good, it was sad, it was short. Brain doesn't have a lot of extra processing power to contribute right now, unfortunately.
pickWhere to start with this one—
Grant Wiggins is a school teacher in the rural south when a young community member is unjustly sentenced to death for a crime he didn‘t commit. Grant is coerced into counseling the man before death. So many questions , such as what makes us human? What is our responsibility toward others? How do we find hope in our darkest hour? Great book to really shine a light on historic injustices. Profound impact.
pickMy daughter was assigned this novel for high school freshman English, and I read it along with her. I love to do this, as it often results in me rereading something from my youth or reading something I would not normally pick up, This is a journey into segregation and racial tension in the deep south. A tragic, necessary read, especially for the young men and women of today.
pick#BookSpin #BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks
Highly recommend this one. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
It made me angry, it made me reflect on my own actions, it made me teary-eyed, and I loved every word.
A young black man is sentenced to death for simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The impact on his family, friends, and community is devastating, but Gaines gives us a book about how people keep moving forward even when it seems like all hope is lost.
This was my first introduction to Gaines and I quickly went on to read all his books. A favorite author. Kindle deal today.
pickNarrator Grant Wiggins is reluctantly recruited by his aunt & Jefferson's godmother, following the verdict of Jefferson's murder trial. Set in Louisiana, Gaines' novel of agency & dignity amidst communal expectations & Jim Crow laws, conveys a great sense of place as well. This novel is astonishing & several themes such as the elusiveness of justice for all still unfortunately relevant 27 years after publication.
pick#ALessonBeforeDying
1940's Cajun country. A very moving story, deep & compassionate. Grant Wiggins returns to visit Jefferson, a black youth, on death row for a crime he didn't commit. well-written book. Author gives us a look & feel through a black man's eyes. They both learned lessons and come to understand the meaning of racial bias that is inflicted on fellow human beings. This is a book everyone should read. I highly recommend it.
You‘ve never had any possessions to give up, Jefferson. But there is something greater than possessions—and that is love.
so-soI feel mixed on this one, the last seventy pages were deeply affecting and I found myself in tears and the depiction of life for black men in Louisiana in the 1940s was powerful, but parts of it also dragged. Jefferson is sentenced to die for a crime to which he was a bystander and his aunt enlists the local teacher to meet with him and impart his humanity on him so he can die with dignity. #40thbirthdaychallenge #1993
pickThis book is amazing. It‘s one of those books where not much is happening in the plot but the characters are enough to keep you engaged. The writing is captivating and you find yourself finishing chapter after chapter. After I finished I definitely thought about my purpose in society and what I am contributing to my community.
“I try to create characters with character in order to improve my own character and maybe the character of the person who reads me.” - Ernest Gaines (1933-2019)🖤📚Rest in Manly, Southern, Literary Power and Esteem. #ernestgaines #americanwriters #southernwriters #blackwriters
#LetsTravelAugust #prison
Tagged book is among the suggested books for incoming freshmen‘s summer reading requirement st the HS where I teach.It never ages. The book is fiction, but it is based on the true story of a young black man, Willie Francis of Louisiana. He was sentenced to death in the electric chair.
pickJefferson grew up as a fairly typical #smalltownboy in the black community of Bayonne, Louisiana in the 30s and 40s: poor, little education, & hard labor on the farm. At 21, he is wrongly convicted of murder, and his godmother recruits her friend's teacher-nephew to teach him how to be a man before he faces death after a lifetime of injustice. What ensues is powerful and multi-layered: I think I'm still unpacking a lot of its implications.
Day 24 - #lessons #springintoreading
I own this book but have not read it yet.
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.
#CellBlockTango #MusicalNewYear
I read A Lesson Before Dying over 20 years ago and loved it so much I quickly read almost everything else by Ernest Gaines. I hate to admit I don‘t remember much other than the man on death row. It was so good I purchased a copy at a library book sale recently to re-read even though I don‘t usually re-read things.
Whew! I haven‘t read this one yet but based on #momreviews and Litsy reviews, I‘d better be ready for this one. @Momreviews
pickI thought about using a less abrasive quote but decided this was most fitting for such a moving book. I didn't like it because it really wasn't "enjoyable" material but it stuck with me.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
#blackandbookedchallenge
#bookmail for the third day in a row!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻 I got my second BOTM box as well as the two books I won from the wonderful @BarbaraBB Thank you! ❤️❤️
pick😭😭😭 This one is worthy of a reread. A lot of hard truth on these pages.
😞 Powerful. (Though this paragraph started out with the failure of black men to protect & save black women, which I find uncomfortably sexist.)
This book is going to burn me up, and rightfully so. I‘ve been agitated several times already and this is only chapter 7.
pickI guess that I put that review in as a blurb thus I didn't give this book a "pick" rating. Sorry guys... it was early in the morning.
Do stack.
Do read.
It's worth the effort and very much recommended.
I remember reading this book as if it were yesterday.
How long will I think about this book? How long before I forget this story? Always and never. Because the lesson was not for the dying, for the losing of life, for the soon to be executed. The lesson was/is for the living, for the chosing of life, for anyone heroic enough to be more than what is expected. I hope to remember that.
Highly recommended!
"I want you to show them the difference between what they think you are and what you can be."
pickWhat a great, sad novel. An innocent black man gets the death penalty. Another man visite him in death row. They learn a lot from each other. Read while sailing our little boat through the rural regionale north of Amsterdam.
Enjoying a beautiful day, working on this for my book club, while my little enjoys her sunshine. 💕💕
#Thriftbooks #bookmail came today! The tagged book is for the book club I'm in and I couldn't pass up getting a couple more!
Now that Litsy posts for grades are done, I wanted to post on some books I've read through out my years, and post on the books that have made an impact on my life and education. I will never forget reading "A Lesson Before Dying" sophomore year of HS, and what an incredible influence it had on my future reading endeavors. If you have not read this, you must. It's heart wrenching and a true insight to the injustices that went on not so long ago.
"I'm so sorry. And I wished they had somebody else we could turn to. But they ain't no body else."
#RiotGrams Black History Month "I want you to show them the difference between what they think you are and what you can be."
Read 14 books this month. While I liked several of the #TOB17 books, none of them made my "favorite" list. These four I'll remember for a long time. #januaryreads
pickA moving, compassionate look at being human or inhuman as the case may be. "He was the bravest man in the room today..."
pickA Lesson Before Dying is a very moving book. It will pull at your heart strings. It will make you angry. It will make you question humanity. This book really pulls all of your emotions out. It is a book I recommend you read.
#slavery
