Book Review: A Gathering of Old Men

Throughout this year reading this book is one of the best thing Ms. Fletcher has had me do! As a young black man getting ready to plunge into this world, accepting its pros and cons, a novel like this is somewhat enlightening and uplifting all at once. The novel portrays race relations in the south a little before our time. The action takes place over the course of one day in rural Louisiana. A white man has been shot dead and lies in the yard of a black man's house. Eighteen old black men gather at the house and each claims that he is responsible for the killing. The brutal white sheriff conducts his investigation as the old men await the revenge of the dead man's relatives, who have a fearsome, longstanding reputation for exacting vigilante justice against black people. By the end of the day, there have been many surprises, and many of the characters have changed in ways that they could not have imagined.
The conclusion of the novel hints that although the wounds of the past run deep and still influence the present, times are changing, and in the future, black people can hold out hope for a new era in which everyone is treated equally under the law. This is a great read for anyone whether your black, white, or purple you will like this book.