A Life for a Life

By Ernest Hill

Book Overview

From the acclaimed author of Satisfied with Nothin' comes a searing and unsparing story of the unlikely bond between an African-American father and the teenager who killed his son, a tale of violent self-destruction reclaimed by the inexhaustible power of love and forgiveness. In A Life for a Life, Ernest Hill explores the volatile emotional terrain of a black youth's coming of age in rural Louisiana. When a local drug dealer threatens to kill D'Ray Reid's kid brother unless he comes up with $100 within an hour, D'Ray decides to hold up a convenience store in a nearby town. The young clerk at the cash register attempts to foil the robbery and in the scuffle D'Ray shoots and kills him. What follows is an absorbing drama in which D'Ray becomes a fugitive with a lengthening resume of violent crime. Yet it is ultimately in the person of Henry Earl, the slain boy's father, that D'Ray sees his future. When he is forced to reckon with his destruction of the boy's family, D'Ray finds that Henry Earl is his only advocate and the person who will ask of him what no one, not even his family, had ever asked before. A Life for a Life witnesses the resuscitation of two lives by love, forgiveness, and gratitude. The relationship that develops between D'Ray Reid and Henry Earl is nothing short of miraculous: Their discovery of humanity and harmony in the most unlikely place will reverberate in readers' memories.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743281608
• ISBN13: 9780743281607
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.2" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Compelling

This book is awesome. Mr. Hill does a great job with this work. You tend to go on an emotional roller coaster with the leading character D-Ray. You will find yourself smiling, laughing, crying, and cheering. "A Life For A Life" affirms that good things can happen to bad people. I highly recommend this book along with his others:"It's All About the Moon When the Sun Ain't Shining" and "Cry Me a River". They are a must have in your reading collection or book club.

Wow!

This book is phenomenal. I am truly impressed by Ernest Hill and have kept my promise of getting all of his books because of that. This man has dialogue down as well as Langston Hughes, can tell a story better than Slick Rick (one of the most entertaining storytellers I've ever listened to), and always has an intriguing plot. I could've sat in the barbership all day and listened to those men argue, I wanted to hang out with the main character Outlaw, and...I just love everything about this story of a teenage boy trying to save his brother, his own life, and grant himself a future all with the obstacles of poverty, secrecy, trust, and danger lurking around every corner.

Powerful heartfelt story

Ernest Hill's Life for a Life, was a powerful heartfelt story that tells a real story. I'm a 40 year old Black man, and I've never come across a story that I recommend to all my family and friends. Hill tells a story about a man who did all the right things to raise a black young man on the verge of becoming a success and his life is cut short by a hoodlum. You feel the pain and the hurt of this father, then the justice and then the love, which conquers all.

A Life for a Life

This book should be required reading for all fathers and sons. I am neither...but it made a lasting impression even on me.

A CLASSIC

I am an avid reader who reads at least 100 books per year, most of them pretty mediocre. This book was a delightful exception. This book was so good, it has the makings of a modern day classic. The characters, the story were all very good. Mr. Hill is a great storyteller, I read his previous book and also enjoyed it. He does not pander to foolishness to get his books on the best-seller list. He just tells a great story. I would hope that he would be recognize by the mainstream because this work was a peice of art. You make all readers of African American ficition proud that there are a few good writers left.