A Gathering of Old Men

“A Gathering of Old Men” by Ernest J Gaines
Published by Random House
 
What an incredible and powerful book!!!  You have a group of older black men standing up to make a right from prior wrongs, with nothing to lose.  You have a young white man standing up to make a change, with everything to lose.  Then of course you have the racists in town….enough said there.  But you also have a sheriff caught in the middle, who understands where both sides are coming from, trying to keep the peace.  And throughout, you have the bond of friendship and family prevalent.  The story takes place in a matter of hours, with stories of the past thrown in, and all of it is significant.  All of it with lessons to learn.  The story takes place in the 70s and was published in the 80s but, unfortunately, I feel it should continue to be a must read all these many years later.  I would love for it to be taught in high school literature classes but I’m guessing the dreaded “N word” would keep it out of some schools.  It is used throughout the book, but it is used properly both historically and contextually and the author is African-American so I don’t see an issue with its use.  Granted, I’m a white woman so I don’t know that my opinion matters in that sense.  Regardless, I highly recommend this book.  If you haven’t read it yet – go read it.  If you have, go read it again.  It is a story that needs to be read and understood.
 
Finished 3/8/26 – 5/5 stars
 
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