A very powerful ending. ( )

Reviewed by Mrs. Foley
From Destiny Library record, "The story of two young black men, one condemned to death for a murder and the other a teacher, who form a bond in a small Cajun Louisiana community in the late 1940s."

This is a great book, but a frustrating one as you want things to be different...to turn out differently. But, unfortunately it is realistic to the times then. Great book for class discussions!

Review from Publisher's Weekly Review:
Gaines's first novel in a decade may be his crowning achievement. In this restrained but eloquent narrative, the author of The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman again addresses some of the major issues of race and identity in our time. The story of two African American men struggling to attain manhood in a prejudiced society, the tale is set in Bayonne, La. (the fictional community Gaines has used previously) in the late 1940s. It concerns Jefferson, a mentally slow, barely literate young man, who, though an innocent bystander to a shootout between a white store owner and two black robbers, is convicted of murder, and the sophisticated, educated man who comes to his aid. When Jefferson's own attorney claims that executing him would be tantamount to killing a hog, his incensed godmother, Miss Emma, turns to teacher Grant Wiggins, pleading with him to gain access to the jailed youth and help him to face his death by electrocution with dignity. As complex a character as Faulkner's Quentin Compson, Grant feels mingled love, loyalty and hatred for the poor plantation community where he was born and raised. He longs to leave the South and is reluctant to assume the level of leadership and involvement that helping Jefferson would require. Eventually, however, the two men, vastly different in potential yet equally degraded by racism, achieve a relationship that transforms them both. Suspense rises as it becomes clear that the integrity of the entire local black community depends on Jefferson's courage. Though the conclusion is inevitable, Gaines invests the story with emotional power and universal resonance. BOMC and QPB alternates. Copyright 1993 Cahners Business Information, Inc. ( )

Set in the fictional town of Bayonne, Louisiana in the late 1940s. Two African American men, proundly different, are both struggling to be men in a racist society.

Uneducated Jefferson witnesses the murder of a white storekeeper during a robbery. The perpetrators are also killed, and Jefferson is put on trial for murder. In Jefferson's defense, his lawyer says not that Jefferson is innocent, but that killing him would be like slaughtering a hog. The all white jury is not swayed by this argument and sentences him to death in the electric chair.

Jefferson's godmother, who raised him, asks a black school teacher, Grant Wiggins, to visit Jefferson in jail and help him to face his death with dignity.

Grant longs to leave the South and is unwilling to take his task seriously. He really doesn't believe it will make a difference. After all, though he is well-educated, he still feels bound and limited by the same racist attitudes that resulted in Jefferson's conviction and death sentence. Eventually, however, the two men form a bond that transforms them both.

Heart-wrenching and thought-provoking. A MUST READ. ( )

In a small town in Louisiana during the 1940s, a young black man is convicted for the murder of a white shopkeeper. Although he was present at the robbery, he was not the one who pulled the trigger. Nevertheless he was give the death penalty. Grant Wiggins, the town's black schoolmaster, is asked to visit with Jefferson in jail, to help him prepare for the inevitable, and be ready to die with dignity. Although Grant resents being asked, he does visit with Jefferson, and in the end, both learn from each other some important life lessons. Gaines' novel is a powerful indictment against the racial injustice of the 40s, and which still lingers today. The book has some strong, unforgettable characters, and the story is compelling, although uncomfortable. It really made me rethink my ideas about the death penalty. It's not a book I would have ordinarily have picked up - I read it for a discussion group - but I'm so glad I read it. ( )

Another book that moved me. Even in adversity the human spirit and friendship is still powerful. ( )