Customer Reviews: Read 62 more reviews...
 Moving and Powerful July 21, 2008
A Gathering of Old Men / 0-679-73890-8
A Gathering of Old Men is an incredibly powerful and moving look into a community that has collectively had enough discrimination and pain to last lifetimes and decides, as a whole, that enough is enough.
When racial tensions are charged over the murder of a white landowner by a local black man, the sheriff is astonished and amazed at the number of black men who come forward to insist that they are guilty of the crime. While this flood of confessions seems, at first, to be an attempt to shield the "real" murderer (a respected and loved member of the community), it quickly becomes clear that there is more at stake here. The men relate, one by one, the horrors they have witnessed, the rapes, the beatings, the murders, the crimes that the local white men have committed against them freely and without fear. Each of them insists that they had simply "had enough" and that this - and nothing more compelling - was their motive for the murder. The sight of these weathered old men, camped stubbornly about the dead body, each insisting that he is the killer, each detailing the horrors they have silently watched, moves the reader to tears. At the end, the community is deeply shaken by the realization that the reality they have always taken for granted does not reflect the deep inner feelings of the members.
Beautiful and poignant November 13, 2007
A Gathering of Old Men is a beautiful portrait of a community that has quietly taken all that it can and will take no more. Men who have silently borne tragedy speak slowly, haltingly, solemnly that they will suffer no more. They will stand up for themselves, for their honor, for their people.
 not as good as his other work but overall, a good effort November 13, 2007
Old black men in a Louisiana town protect one of their
own from a racist sheriff. The writing is fast-paced
and moves through the story quickly but I just didn't
enjoy it as much as A Lesson Before Dying. I guess for
me the plot and the storyline were a little too easy
to figure out or maybe it's because the characters came
off a little too grumpy and not sympathetic enough.
Overall, a good effort.
 A Gathering of Old Men May 10, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Ernest Gaines's novel, A Gathering of Old Men, is an excellent and inspiring story. Gaines did a great job at bringing his audience right into the action by his skillful use of description. Ernest could have, however, changed the surroundings more often. A huge portion of the book stayed in the same setting. Often, Gaines used predictable routines of the characters. These minor flaws can make the reader bored from the lack of change. The characters were easily predictable at times, but sometimes Gaines would throw in a few surprises. Ernest did an excellent job of making up for his mistakes by making his readers anticipate what will happen next, but unexpectedly, he changes the story into a whole new direction. Despite the small imperfections, overall, the novel was interesting and unique.
A Gathering of Old Men May 3, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The book, A Gathering of Old Men is a unique description of a story about a white man who gets shot by a colored man. If you are interested in the civil rights act and segregation this is truely the book for you. The author used a complex perspective of different characters on the same story to express the different views of the plot. This book can get boring at times yet is in the end very interesting with the ironic twist. Overall I would recomend reading this book.
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