Ernest J. Gaines

Author profile

born

in Pointe Coupee Parish (Louisiana) , The United States

January 15, 1933

gender

male

genre

Literature & Fiction, Historical Fiction

About this author

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Born to a sharecropping family, Ernest Gaines was picking cotton in the fields by age nine and only attended school five or six months a year. When he was fifteen, he moved to California to join his mother who had relocated during World War II, and began writing. He attended San Francisco State University, served in the army, and won a writing fellowship to Stanford University. Gaines has been a MacArthur Foundation fellow, inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, awarded the National Humanities Medal, and inducted into the French Order of Arts and Letters as a Chevalier. He and his wife split their time between Louisiana and San Francisco.

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Ernest J. Gaines's Books

Average rating: 3.89 · 28,774 ratings · 1,909 reviews · 16 distinct works · Similar authors

	A Lesson Before Dying 3.85 of 5 stars 3.85 avg rating — 21,743 ratings — published 1993 — 33 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman 4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 avg rating — 4,303 ratings — published 1971 — 25 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Gathering of Old Men 3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 1,954 ratings — published 1983 — 14 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Of Love and Dust 3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 201 ratings — published 1968 — 4 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	In My Father's House 3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 avg rating — 186 ratings — published 1978 — 7 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bloodline: Five Stories 3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 avg rating — 118 ratings — published 2012 — 4 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Catherine Carmier 3.64 of 5 stars 3.64 avg rating — 98 ratings — published 1972 — 7 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Mozart and Leadbelly by Ernest J. Gaines, Reggie Young (Editor), Marcia Gaudet (Compiler) 3.73 of 5 stars 3.73 avg rating — 41 ratings — published 2005 — 4 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Sky Is Gray 3.68 of 5 stars 3.68 avg rating — 25 ratings — published 1995	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Lesson Before Dying 4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 14 ratings — published 2002	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by Ernest J. Gaines

“Why is it that, as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands? ”
― Ernest J. Gaines

61 people liked it

“I want you to show them the difference between what they think you are and what you can be.”
― Ernest J. Gaines, A Lesson Before Dying

47 people liked it

“I have no more to say except this: We must live with our own conscience.”
― Ernest J. Gaines, A Lesson Before Dying

tags: life

23 people liked it

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