Book Review: The Gathering of Old Men by Ernest J. Gaines.

A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest J. Gaines.
Book Summary: Set on a Louisiana sugarcane plantation in the 1970s, A Gathering of Old Men is a powerful depiction of racial tensions arising over the death of a Cajun farmer at the hands of a black man. 

Liana's Summary: It all started with the death of a Cajun farmer-- killed by a black man. Unheard of, and completely just wrong in the 1970s. But who exactly killed him? With everyone trying to take the blame, how can the sheriff be sure who exactly killed him? Gaines writes with a grace that powerfully displays the racism back then.

Rate(1-10): 8.5

I'll just say it now: If it wasn't an assignment, I wouldn't have picked up this book at all. But, oh, my gawd. Aren't I glad that I picked it up. It's actually a really good book-- probably the second best classic novel I've read, which really isn't much.. Usually, when I read classics, I find myself looking at SparkNotes for help. Like, every sentence. Or, like when I read Pride and Prejudice for the sake of reading it and skimmed everything and didn't really care or know what was happening.. maybe i'll have to reread that with SparkNotes

Before reading this book, I knew that there was a lot of racism back then. Before reading To Kill a Mockingbird, I was really clueless about the racial tensions. After reading A Gathering of Old Men, I think I've broadened my views.

Gaines wrote with modern, clear language that wasn't hard to keep up with. (Didn't even use SparkNotes bwahaha) I would definitely recommend this to anyone, even those who despise classics-- let's see if this changes their mind.