Another Wonderful One

Yesterday I finished reading A LESSON BEFORE DYING by Ernest J. Gaines (1993). Although this book was selected for Oprah's Book Club, at that time I was living in a small town with next-to-no television reception, did not watch Oprah's program, and therefore didn't ever hear of this book. I borrowed it from a family member and was completely captivated by it. The story is about a young black man in the South who is wrongly convicted of a murder that occurred while he was present. He was sentenced to die in the electric chair, but suffered such complete humiliation during the trial that he couldn't accept any of the love and comfort offered by his family. His godmother insisted that the local school teacher (who was connected to the family) visit the prison regularly and attempt to raise the condemned man's self-esteem so that he could die with at least a semblance of dignity. When you have a reluctant teacher and an even more-reluctant student, the way is not easy. Mr. Gaines has done a beautiful job in telling this story