pick“He was a man some people would say was too hard. He lived in hard times—and the burden we put on him wasn‘t easy. Yes, we. That includes myself. If we had done more, his burden wouldn‘t have been so heavy.”
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The Tragedy of Brady Sims | 
pick“He was a man some people would say was too hard. He lived in hard times—and the burden we put on him wasn‘t easy. Yes, we. That includes myself. If we had done more, his burden wouldn‘t have been so heavy.”
pickThis novella is set up in parts with different narrators. It opens in the courthouse and moves to the barbershop. Brady‘s story is told in a meandering way by various men. Instead of “he took a walk” it‘s “remember when the mill was working and you had to take that back road to the creek? It took you straight to that old cabin near where you always had good hunting for rabbits.” It‘s a sit-n-stay-a-spell type of story.
Starting this fine fellow‘s novella tonight.
pickI read and loved A Lesson Before Dying many years ago. I had no idea that Ernest Gaines was still alive, let alone still writing. This book came out in October, three months shy of his 85th birthday. Short, moving, and tragic on so many levels, but not without moments of light and humor. So grateful that my library had this in the new release section or I would have completely missed its existence. ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️
pick114 pages. That's all that was needed to breathe life into Brady Sims, to laydown the blueprint of a violent situation, to map the back roads of memory and the current pathways of racism. A single life echoing through a small town...instilling fear, respect, and friendship. A father protecting his son and the sons of other fathers in ways that may seem cruel, but none the less are protection from a fate far worse than death.
so-soGaines's 1993 'A Lesson Before Dying' is one of the best, most heart-wrenching novels I've read about African Americans in the American South; this, his new novella, doesn't come close to its power to move and engross. An old African American gent, Brady Sims, shoots his son dead in the courtroom moments after the son is found guilty of capital crimes. By the end of the book, I didn't know why and didn't care nearly as much as I should have.
A reporter is talking to an elderly black juror in small-town Louisiana later the same day that the jury convicts a black man and then the accused's father stands up and shoots his son dead in the courtroom.
Gosh...
#QuoteOfTheDay
Last night.
Browsing in the bookstore and came upon this.
A new book. A favorite author. Money in my pocket.
Home bound.
Life is Good!
Ooooh, on this week's All The Books Liberty revealed that Gaines, now 84, has this new novella out! His 'A Lesson Before Dying' effing ripped my heart out when I read it in the early 90s. I think I have to fit this into my reading schedule almost immediately! ❤️❤️
pickA very short, but powerful, book. Embarrassed to say I have never read him before, but I will certainly be correcting that. ❤️
Evening reading. 📖
pickSo much is packed into this novella: race, poverty, family and I dare say a level of friendship and respect between 2 men of different races. Ernest Gaines knows how to tell a story.
I'll be adding a physical copy to my bookshelf. #southernlit #schoolsoutforsummer #Sundayreading
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