A Lesson before Dying

A Lesson before Dying
By Ernest J. Gaines
A.A. Knopf, 1993. 256 pgs. Fiction

When Miss Emma's godson Jefferson is on trial and sentenced to die in the electric chair, one moment stands out to her: the defense attorney's weak defense that Jefferson can't be accountable because he's not a man, just a mindless hog. Indignant at the comparison, Miss Emma implores Grant, the local schoolteacher, to visit Jefferson regularly in prison and get him to die as a man, not a hog. Grant, wrapped in cynicism and the frustration of being a black man in rural Louisiana, thinks nothing will come of his visits. While he doesn't believe he can help Jefferson, he does visit, and attempts to give Jefferson a lesson--but finds himself learning one as well.

This novel portrays the plight of the African American community in the deep South prior to the Civil Rights movement. While it has somewhat of a slow pace, little action, and Grant isn't the most engaging character, the story weaves together to demonstrate the strength of the human soul.

**This book is available as a book club set at the library. It's not squeaky clean, but there are wonderful themes to discuss.**

AE