Reviews

A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest J. Gaines

mschrock8's review against another edition

Passed on to me from Mom.

noelnoie's review against another edition

5.0

Review to come once I sit & process my emotions from reading this book...

sadiehatton's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

kimball_hansen's review against another edition

3.0

I listened to this book while biking around Globe and updating the Public Works GIS Database. The narration was unique with this murder story that was told by many different people. The readers were great but I found myself struggling to remember all the different characters especially because their voices changed (due to all the different readers). I got this book from Dad's Audible library. I'm sure I would have liked it more if I kept better track of all the characters.

taraminter's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

audrey_aton's review against another edition

emotional inspiring tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Murder, Racism, and Racial slurs

ja3m3's review against another edition

5.0

I’m going to start off by stating that A Gathering Of Old Men is the best book that I have read so far in 2013. Though it is a short novel, barely 200 pages, it packs a powerful punch as it portrays the need of a few elderly black men to finally stand up to the injustices that they felt living with Jim Crow. The raw emotion and dignity that is felt as one by one they tell their stories about the horror of being black in the deep south during the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s is gut-wrenching. There are so many lessons in this book - letting go of fears, standing up to injustice, when does something wrong become something right? that I found myself pausing to rethink what I know about history especially racism in the late 1970's.

Gaines does an amazing job capturing the essence of the people living in a small parish in Louisiana who will all make choices that will shape the direction of their lives. Highly recommend.

yousrabushehri's review against another edition

3.0

Really good book but not something I would reread or something I would read in the first place if it wasn't for my class.

dude_watchin_with_the_brontes's review

5.0

This is one of those books which is wonderful enough on its own, and the audiobook version brings out even more. This book was narrated by a whole cast of talented readers. I want to re-read A Lesson Before Dying now.

Trigger warnings: racism, violence, the N-word in abundance.

odonnell's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0