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May 27, 2018kwsmith rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Set in Louisiana during the late 1940s, an uneducated black man is unfairly convicted of murder and sentenced to death. The local elementary school teacher, the only educated black man in the community, reluctantly agrees to tutor the unfortunate prisoner so that he can approach death with dignity. Gaines emphasizes the racial inequalities in the tiny community, and draws out a powerful theme about how it can be heroic to defy the unfair expectations put upon you by society. The writing is excellent, but I found the book a bit dull because the outcome is entirely predictable.