A Lesson Before Dying
by Ernest J. Gaines
Taste attributes: dramahistoricalpoliticalslowunsavouryheavyrealisticlinearenclosedemotive & stirringhuman spirit/resilience/survivalinjustice/tragedy/vengeancesocial commentary
Boxlist takeSerious and moving: a realistic novel, dark rather than wholesome. Best if you like stories that hit hard.
Taste details
Pace: slow · Originality: balanced · Tone: dark · Weight: very heavy · Realism: true to life · Story: balanced · Structure: linear · Look: balanced · Scale: confined · Emotional punch: very stirringHow we score
Open Library rating
4.2 / 5
13 ratings
About This Book
In his first novel in ten years, Ernest Gaines, the highly acclaimed author of the best-selling The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, brings us a wrenching story of death and identity in a small Cajun Louisiana community in the late 1940s. A young black named Jefferson is a reluctant party in a shoot-out in a liquor store in which the three other men involved are all killed, including the white store owner.
Description: Open Library
Characteristics
Where this book sits on each taste spectrum
Genres and themes
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Details
- Author
- Ernest J. Gaines
- Published
- 1993
- Pages
- 256
- Taste scores
- How we score
- Source
- Open Library
How book matches work
Books are scored on the same ten characteristics as films and matched with the same formula and your own match bands. Book scores are estimates, made from Open Library subjects and descriptions plus an AI reading.
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