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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
~~~~Audiobook review ~~~~
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Ernest Gaines a really compelling concept - a black woman, age 110, tells her life story to a local history teacher who records it for his students and also posterity. Miss Jane Pittman was born a slave and at age 10 when the Civil War is over, starts her life as a “free person”. Her story ends at the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. Miss Jane is full of wisdom and her story is amazing, having experienced a century of a changing nation, although certainly not fast enough in the realm of race relations. I enjoyed this audiobook quite a bit and felt the narrator did an amazing job catching all the lyrical elements of the prose. That was one of my favorite things about the book; the way the language has a cadence to it; a rhythm.
I liked the first half of the book better than the second half. Her experience as a girl and young woman , to me, were the most compelling. Her stories as an older woman seemed to be more focused on others; the other people living in the quarters, the creole schoolteacher, etc. I just enjoyed this less.
Overall this is a wonderful book and a great listen at the hands of the fabulous narrator Tonya Jordan.
7/10
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Ernest Gaines a really compelling concept - a black woman, age 110, tells her life story to a local history teacher who records it for his students and also posterity. Miss Jane Pittman was born a slave and at age 10 when the Civil War is over, starts her life as a “free person”. Her story ends at the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. Miss Jane is full of wisdom and her story is amazing, having experienced a century of a changing nation, although certainly not fast enough in the realm of race relations. I enjoyed this audiobook quite a bit and felt the narrator did an amazing job catching all the lyrical elements of the prose. That was one of my favorite things about the book; the way the language has a cadence to it; a rhythm.
I liked the first half of the book better than the second half. Her experience as a girl and young woman , to me, were the most compelling. Her stories as an older woman seemed to be more focused on others; the other people living in the quarters, the creole schoolteacher, etc. I just enjoyed this less.
Overall this is a wonderful book and a great listen at the hands of the fabulous narrator Tonya Jordan.
7/10
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
The biggest fault of this book is not in any way it's own fault - it just doesn't hold up against all of the tremendously good literature on the subjects that have come after it.
The first half of the book really kept my interest - a young girl trying to make her way out of the South just after emancipation. Unfortunately, as Jane gets older, the story gets more and more muddied. A lot of names tied to one-off events that we don't quite understand because we didn't know these people before their name shows up AND weren't given a solid enough set-up. Towards the end, it really does feel like the disconnected ramblings of an "old woman" even to the point of her repeating herself. It was as if she is unable to remember what is happening to her on a daily basis and yet things that happened 100 years ago are fresh in her mind (I don't doubt that can happen, it just doesn't work as a novel.)
The worst offense, however, is that the book ends just as it starts to get interesting again, during the American Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. It might as well stop mid-sentence. It's like Gaines ran out of ideas for what she could do next.
There is no denying Miss Jane's deserved place as a "classic," unfortunately, it's just not that great a read.
The first half of the book really kept my interest - a young girl trying to make her way out of the South just after emancipation. Unfortunately, as Jane gets older, the story gets more and more muddied. A lot of names tied to one-off events that we don't quite understand because we didn't know these people before their name shows up AND weren't given a solid enough set-up. Towards the end, it really does feel like the disconnected ramblings of an "old woman" even to the point of her repeating herself. It was as if she is unable to remember what is happening to her on a daily basis and yet things that happened 100 years ago are fresh in her mind (I don't doubt that can happen, it just doesn't work as a novel.)
The worst offense, however, is that the book ends just as it starts to get interesting again, during the American Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. It might as well stop mid-sentence. It's like Gaines ran out of ideas for what she could do next.
There is no denying Miss Jane's deserved place as a "classic," unfortunately, it's just not that great a read.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
i thought this book was very insightful into the Black experience over a century, but i would say to read critically because the book follows a woman but is written by a man, and it is clear in some parts of the novel
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Earnest J. Gaines is a 1971 publication.
A very realistic classic
I don’t remember what grade I was in, but one of my teachers offered the class extra credit if they watched the made for television movie based on this book. My family gathered around our console TV and sat riveted by Cicely Tyson’s performance. I had big fat tears streaming down my cheeks at the end, and the movie made such an impression on me, I still own a DVD copy of it. I will confess that for a long time I thought this was a true story-
For the record, this is a work of fiction, but it is presented in such a way, it would be very easy to believe it was a true story.
Before Ms. Tyson passed away, I had already put her memoir on hold at the library, but after her death, I found myself mulling over her iconic roles, and while Sounder and Roots are still prevalent in my memory, it was her role as Miss Jane Pittman that made the biggest impression on me.
After re-watching the movie recently, I was once again reminded that it was based on a book, which I had completely forgotten about.
How could I have gone all this time without reading the book? That seemed totally unacceptable, so I set out to find a copy, and once again, my library came through- as did Scribd, which has the audio version.
In Jane’s long life she sees the aftermath of the Civil War, lives through the Jim Crow south, and decides, well past the century mark by this time, to set an example, by taking part in the Civil Rights movement.
Her life is filled with hardships and tragedies, but before her life ended, she became a true inspiration, doing what others were too afraid to do.
The book version does vary some from the television production, which left out a sad interracial relationship Jane witnessed, for example, and really, really, toned down the use of racial slurs.
The book, unfortunately, severely lacked inflection, and was devoid of the emotion that the movie generated- especially the iconic conclusion. I admit I was a bit let down by the flat tone of the narration, including the audio version, which was also strangely pedestrian.
This may be one of those very rare times when the movie version was better than the book. Still, I am glad I took the time to read it, as it did teach some lessons the movie left out, and the lack of glossiness was very effective during a few specific passages.
Overall, while the book is fairly dry, it does hold an air of authenticity, and should be read as a companion to the movie for the full experience.
3 stars
A very realistic classic
I don’t remember what grade I was in, but one of my teachers offered the class extra credit if they watched the made for television movie based on this book. My family gathered around our console TV and sat riveted by Cicely Tyson’s performance. I had big fat tears streaming down my cheeks at the end, and the movie made such an impression on me, I still own a DVD copy of it. I will confess that for a long time I thought this was a true story-
For the record, this is a work of fiction, but it is presented in such a way, it would be very easy to believe it was a true story.
Before Ms. Tyson passed away, I had already put her memoir on hold at the library, but after her death, I found myself mulling over her iconic roles, and while Sounder and Roots are still prevalent in my memory, it was her role as Miss Jane Pittman that made the biggest impression on me.
After re-watching the movie recently, I was once again reminded that it was based on a book, which I had completely forgotten about.
How could I have gone all this time without reading the book? That seemed totally unacceptable, so I set out to find a copy, and once again, my library came through- as did Scribd, which has the audio version.
In Jane’s long life she sees the aftermath of the Civil War, lives through the Jim Crow south, and decides, well past the century mark by this time, to set an example, by taking part in the Civil Rights movement.
Her life is filled with hardships and tragedies, but before her life ended, she became a true inspiration, doing what others were too afraid to do.
The book version does vary some from the television production, which left out a sad interracial relationship Jane witnessed, for example, and really, really, toned down the use of racial slurs.
The book, unfortunately, severely lacked inflection, and was devoid of the emotion that the movie generated- especially the iconic conclusion. I admit I was a bit let down by the flat tone of the narration, including the audio version, which was also strangely pedestrian.
This may be one of those very rare times when the movie version was better than the book. Still, I am glad I took the time to read it, as it did teach some lessons the movie left out, and the lack of glossiness was very effective during a few specific passages.
Overall, while the book is fairly dry, it does hold an air of authenticity, and should be read as a companion to the movie for the full experience.
3 stars
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
A fictional “autobiography” of one hell of a character. Miss Jane Pittman was born in slavery and lived to demonstrate in the civil rights movement. Obviously there is a lot of pain, but she is an astounding embodiment of the rich complexity and strength of black women throughout history. This could be an interesting paired text of fiction to accompany something like Carol Anderson’s White Rage.
Not an overly long book, but staggering in its scope. At its essence, the story is about how much changed in the hundred years following the Civil War as well as how much did not.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman covers one hundred years of Black history - from the end of the Civil War to the Civil Rights March - in the form of a fictional autobiography. Jane is a fabulous character full of strength, hope and determination, even when many experiences of the harsh realities of life have taken their inevitable toll. On the one hand this novel highlights how few gains the end of slavery actually bought to Black Americans, especially in the South. On the other it showcases the full live, ones with plenty of love and laughter as well as tears, that Jane and other Blacks lived despite the threats and obstacles they faced.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism