A Gathering of Old Men

by Ernest J. Gaines

Book Overview

A powerful depiction of racial tensions arising over the death of a Cajun farmer at the hands of a black man--set on a Louisiana sugarcane plantation in the 1970s. The Village Voice called A Gathering of Old Men "the best-written novel on Southern race relations in over a decade."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679738908
• ISBN13: 9780679738909
• Release Date: June 1992
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.56 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.1" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Wow

This book was really good. Non stop reading.

Book

This is a very good book. I have always wanted to read Ernest J. Gaines. I plan on buying more of his books.

A brilliant, moving story of race relations and humanity

A Gathering of Old Men, set in 1970s Louisiana, is one of the richest and most powerful novels about race relations written in the last few decades. It's really a simple story that could be told fairly quickly, but the event upon which the novel is based is in some ways peripheral to the story. The whole point of the novel is to pry deeply into the hearts and minds of men, both black and white, reveal the pains and struggles that each of them has either dealt out or dealt with, and to reveal the poignant humanity in a group of brave old men who have essentially counted for nothing in their own minds and are determined to take advantage of one last opportunity to stand up for themselves, their friends and families, and their ancestors. Beau Boutan is dead, lying out in the weeds beside his shotgun, and everyone knows who killed him. He was shot in Mathu's yard, and Mathu is the only black man on the place that has ever stood up for himself against the Boutans. By the time Sheriff Mapes arrives on the scene, the situation is far from simple, though. Eighteen old black men are assembled in the yard, each with a shotgun and an empty shell of the type that cut Beau down, and each one of them says he killed Beau. Candy is there, the white lady half-raised by old Mathu after her parents were killed, and she is determined to defend Mathu and all of the blacks on her land the way her parents and grandparents defended them in the past. She says she killed Beau and will confess the crime in court. Mapes has a problem on his hands. Fix Boutan, the dead man's father, is sure to come down to the quarters seeking revenge, and there is bound to be a lynching if Mapes can't get everything straightened out before Fix has time to get there. All the old black men gathered in the yard are there because of Fix. Each one of them has lived a long time without ever really standing up for himself; they've all taken abuse quietly, and they have seen their women and children abused right in front of their eyes for what seems like forever. Now, they see they have a last chance to stand up for themselves against Fix and his cruel gang. They have come for a fight, and no one is going to talk them out of it. Gaines gives us multiple points of view in this novel. Each chapter is related in first person by one of the characters, and the results are incredibly revealing. We learn a great deal about these men, the lives they have led, and their own feelings about those lives. It's really quite intense and revealing. This is not a story of racial hatred, however, despite the fact that a number of white characters have led hateful lives. Twenty years earlier, Fix Boutan would have been revenged his boy's murder without even thinking about it, and this is the Fix Boutan the old black men expect and indeed hope to take their stand against. Times are changing, though, and the younger generation, men such as Beau's brother Gil, don't think the same way that the older

Taking a Stand

Ernest Gaines clearly demonstrates his love of the land and people of Louisiana in A Gathering of Old Men. In a storyline which has similarities with Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express, eighteen old Afro-American men take a stand by admitting to a murder of the local racist bully Beau Boutan. Their position gives them the authority to redeem their dignity.Ernest Gaines is a masterful writer and a compelling story-teller. The book is structured almost as a number of short stories. Each chapter adds to the whole and is told from a different persons point of view. Each short synapsis provides insight into a new character and the choices and perspectives which they hold.This is a story about changing times, the late 1970's. This is a story about strength and dignity. This is a story about father and son. This is a story about black and white. There is so much involved in this short novel. In addition to that, it is told in a way that is interesting and readable. I had trouble putting the book down. It certainly was one of the more important books I have read in years.I advise anyone concerned about the vitality and diversity found in American Literature to read this.

Ernest Gaines is a great American author!

I enjoy books by this man. He could truly be one of America's greatest current authors. This story partially involves racial issues, but as I've found, Ernest Gaines stories are more stories from the heart, rather than racial incidents. In fact, in this book you would have a hard time telling whether the author is black, white, or whatever by the way the story is told. Rich in characters, some of the people here seem like people I've known, while others are people I would like to know.

Great book, the movie did not do it justice

This book was a great read, so good in fact that it only took me two hours to finish the entire thing. I could not put it down. I saw the movie before I read the book and I must tell you the movie did not do the book justice. Ernest Gaines out did himself, he is one of the best writers I have ever read. He ranks up there with Ellison, Walker, and F.Scott Fitzgerald. This book was one of the most realistic views of the Southern Justice system since "To Kill a Mockingbird" like the characters in that novel, the Black folks know that someone White's word is next to God's and no amount if truth can change that. This book allows the readers to see that we as people must stand up for what we know is right and just, we must not allow people to take justice into their own hands because they feel that they can. This book like no other shows how changing times affects people's views. The plantation owner's son who comes home from college and tries to reason with his family about how to deal reasonably and effectively with the racial implications is superb. He understands that he has to play with and go to school with Blacks and that is a fact that he and his family must learn to live with and accept. Gaines has great character dialogue and great character development, and that makes this book flow like running water. It is absolutely great, it brought water to my eyes when I finished.