A review by bookchace
A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest J. Gaines

4.0

"They getting rid of these old graveyards more and more," I said. "These white folks coming up today don't have no respect for the dead."

This is a book that makes me feel lucky that I found it. The pacing was near perfect, the language was unique and heartfelt. First, I will state that Gaines's use of varying narrators throughout the book is unlike anything I have ever read. Each narrator has a different, distinct voice, and each narrator has a distinct purpose. Whether it be Snookum, Chimley, Lou Dimes, or even Tee Jack, I understand and respect Gaines's decision to choose each one as a narrator when they were one. My favorite character was Snookum. He was at the beginning and the end, and by the end, the reader can clearly see how valuable the Old Men's bravery was to him. These Old Men showed Snookum, the future generation, how it can be.

The themes that stood out in the book were not only the obvious theme of racism and hate in the south, but more prominently, the theme of standing up for something that you believe in, even if someone tells you that it's too late, or that it's unnecessary, or that you're being dramatic. I found myself finding parallels between some of the situations in the book and some situations today. Even today, so many groups who have been kept down for so long throughout history have been kicked and told to stay down, and now, when they have a voice, and they're using that voice, they're told that they're being over the top. I have admittedly even found myself thinking that they have been over the top. This book did what few books have ever done: it made me better understand and sympathize with the struggle that so many of these groups go through.

This is a book that everyone should read.