A Lesson Before Dying
Published on 4. June 2015
Book
Paperback/Softback
272 pages
978-1-84668-786-0 (ISBN)
Description
An Oprah Book Club selection
Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction
Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize
In a small Cajun community in the late 1940s, a young black man named Jefferson witnesses a liquor store shootout in which three men are killed. The only survivor, he is convicted of murder and sentenced to death.
Gaines explores the deep prejudice of the American South in the tradition of Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird and Toni Morrison's Beloved. A Lesson Before Dying is a richly compassionate and deeply moving novel, the story of a young black man sentenced to death for a murder he did not commit, and a teacher who hopes to ease his burden before the execution.
Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction
Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize
In a small Cajun community in the late 1940s, a young black man named Jefferson witnesses a liquor store shootout in which three men are killed. The only survivor, he is convicted of murder and sentenced to death.
Gaines explores the deep prejudice of the American South in the tradition of Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird and Toni Morrison's Beloved. A Lesson Before Dying is a richly compassionate and deeply moving novel, the story of a young black man sentenced to death for a murder he did not commit, and a teacher who hopes to ease his burden before the execution.
Reviews / Votes
Gaines has created a powerful and loving portrait of a small, mainly cane-cutting community ... A transcendent and heartfelt novel of redemption * Guardian * This is a fine and decent book that lives in the memory for its elegance and sadness ... like the best country songs, straight and true, unafraid of sentiment and written for the people it depicts, not simply about them * Independent * A narrative of the deep pain of the south... Gaines writes from the blues and his novel has redemptive power * Morning Star * Gaines has written a novel that is not only never maudlin, but approaches the spare beauty of a classic * Kirkus * 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 * A Lesson Before Dying reconfirms Ernest J. Gaines's position as an important American writer * Boston Globe * Enormously moving... Gaines unerringly evokes the place and time about which he writes * Los Angeles Times * A truly gripping read * Sunday Herald *More details
Series
Edition
Main - Classic edition
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Profile Books Ltd
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 128 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
202 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84668-786-0 (9781846687860)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Ernest J. Gaines
A Lesson Before Dying
Book
02/2001
Serpent's Tail
€29.89
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Previous edition
Ernest J. Gaines
A Lesson Before Dying
Book
02/2001
Serpent's Tail
€29.89
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Persons
Ernest J. Gaines was born in 1933 on a plantation in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, which is the Bayonne of all his fictional works. His novels include The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Of Love and Dust, Catherine Carmier, Bloodline, A Gathering of Old Men and In My Father's House.