About this title: In this story of injustice and redemption set in rural Louisiana during the late 1940s, Grant Wiggins, a backwoods schoolmaster, is asked visit a young black prisoner on death row. Jefferson, the prisoner, was falsely accused and convicted of murder and is sentenced to hang, and Wiggins's job, once he realizes the impossibility of overturning the ...
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Description: Near fine (no dj, pictorial card covers, new unopened copy, pencil numerals front free endpaper, light browning page edges and top corner of front cover rubbed) octavo 256pp. Award winning and moving novel about a young black man sentenced to death for a murder he did not commit, and a teacher who feels obliged to share his learing and pride on death row. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Vintage Books USA
Date Published: 1997
ISBN-13:9780375702709ISBN:0375702709
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 272 p. Vintage Contemporaries (Paperback). Audience: General/trade. Ready for new reader! read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: SparkNotes, New York, New York, U.S.A.
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9781586634766ISBN:1586634763
Description: Very Good. 1586634763 Mass market paperback, previously read used book in very good condition, may have slight worn corners and varying degre..._ read more
Description: Good. 0679414770 Library copy with mylar cover and library markings. Great service. Fast shipping. Saving trees 1 page at a time! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 1997
ISBN-13:9780375702709ISBN:0375702709
Description: Good. A copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact (including dustcover, if applicable). The spine may show signs of wear. Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include "from the library of" labels. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 1997
ISBN-13:9780375702709ISBN:0375702709
Description: Acceptable. A readable copy. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact (the dust cover may be missing). Pages can include considerable notes-in pen or highlighter-but the notes cannot obscure the text. Return Policy Any defects, damages, or material differences with your item, must be reported to us within 7 days of receipt of the item or 30 days from date of shipment. The returned merchandise must be postmarked within 30 days of the shipment notification. Non-deliveries must be reported ... read more
"I reread this book recently after many years and was surprised by nearly everything - but not how good it is. I had forgotten most details of the plot, the narrative structure, the characters, so it was almost like reading it for the first time; and the shock and power of the book hit me anew. This book, about a young black man condemned to die for being in the wrong place at the wrong time in the pre-Civil Rights era South and the young black teacher who is asked to teach him to die like a man, is generally described as being about race relations and about human dignity, but it's far more complex and layered than that. It's also about changing times and mores as one generation takes up where another leaves off; about the difference between faith and religion, and the part that each plays in people's lives; about education and understanding, love and lust, and the different kinds of responsibility we all have in our lives - those that are forced on us, those we take on grudgingly, and those we take on willingly but that have far different repercussions than we ever could have imagined. In the end, of course, there is more than one lesson to be taught and learned."
"This is one of the best books I have ever read. I especially liked the development of Grant. I like the fact that he questions the problems and situations around him. He's not content to stay where he is in life and within himself."
"This book was beautiful. It was emotional and I couldn't control my nose from running as I read the end at work. One of my top ten of all time reads. Here's a very good review by another goodreads member: "It's a very simple story about two African-American men in 1940s Louisiana; one is a teacher and the other is a uneducated man waiting to be executed for a murder he witnessed, but didn't commit. Both of them have given up hope for their lives, and for humanity in general. They live by the rules of the white majority, and both face a bleak future that's beyond their ability to change. They are forced to spend time together, and eventually, they end up teaching each other how noble they are, and how precious life is."
"What caught my eye is that this book had the Oprah Book Club logo on the cover. The title, A Lesson Before Dying is also something that caught my attention. The book starts off with 3 black men who are going to the liquor store. Two black men start arguing with the store owner and then they started shooting. Everyone died except the only man left, Jefferson. He stayed in the store while police arrested him and he was then tried for murder. Grant Wiggins tries to help Jefferson with his case, however Jefferson avoids him in the beginning. Then Wiggins buys him a radio and a journal for him to write in it. Jefferson writes the difference between hogs and men. As time passes, many people including young children go to the cell to talk to Jefferson. JEfferson has become someone who inspired the people- his story was influencial. Grant talks about how the black community has been under the white community and how blacks were enslaved to whites. When Jefferson's attorney called him a hog, he showed that whites were superior to blacks. Jefferson became a symbol for the blacks, for them to stand up against the whites being superior. However, Jefferson was still executed. THis book teaches a lot because its something so realistic. This book taught me that you have to fight for what you want. Stand your ground until you die if its really something you believe in. I would recommend this book to my fellow advisees."
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