Hours: 9am-6pm Monday through Friday - 9am-2pm Saturday (Marshall and Mars Hill)
10am-6pm Monday through Friday - 10am-2pm Saturday (Hot Springs)
All branches are closed on Sunday.

Record Details

Catalog Search

Search The Catalog


A lesson before dying Cover Image Book

A lesson before dying / Ernest J. Gaines.

Gaines, Ernest J., 1933-2019 (author.).

Summary:

In his first novel in ten years, Ernest Gaines, the highly acclaimed author of the best-selling The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, brings us a wrenching story of death and identity in a small Cajun Louisiana community in the late 1940s. A young black named Jefferson is a reluctant party in a shoot-out in a liquor store in which the three other men involved are all killed, including the white store owner. Jefferson, the only survivor, is accused of murder. At the trial, the essence of the defense is that the accused, a lowly form of existence lacking even a modicum of intelligence, is incapable of premeditated murder. His lawyer argues: "Why, I would just as soon put a hog in the electric chair as this." But Jefferson is condemned to death.

Record details

  • ISBN: 9780375702709
  • ISBN: 0375702709
  • ISBN: 0679414770
  • ISBN: 9780679414773
  • ISBN: 0679455612
  • ISBN: 9780679455615
  • Physical Description: 256 pages ; 23 cm.
  • Publisher: New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 1994.

Content descriptions

General Note:
Publisher, dates, and paging may vary.
Target Audience Note:
750L Lexile
Study Program Information Note:
Accelerated Reader AR UG 4.4 11.0 10287.
Accelerated Reader AR UG 4.4 11 10287.

Search for related items by subject

Subject:
African American men > Fiction.
Death row inmates > Fiction.
Race relations > Fiction.
Friendship > Fiction.
Friendships.
Louisiana > Fiction.
Genre:
Historical fiction.
Novels.

Search for related items by series

Available copies

  • 84 of 88 copies available at NC Cardinal. (Show)
  • 1 of 1 copy available at Madison County Public Library.

Holds

  • 1 current hold with 88 total copies.
Sort by distance from:
Show All Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Madison Main Library FIC GAI (Text) 30229000061449 Adult Fiction Available -

Accessibility Features

Summaries & More

Awards, Reviews, & Suggested Reads

Shelf Browser

MARC Record

LDR 03011cam a2200553 i 4500
001969987
003CARDINAL
00520181114131256.0
008920522t19941993nyu e 000 f eng
020 . ‡a9780375702709 ‡q(paperback)
020 . ‡a0375702709 ‡q(paperback)
020 . ‡a0679414770
020 . ‡a9780679414773
020 . ‡a0679455612
020 . ‡a9780679455615
035 . ‡a(OCoLC)26012819
035 . ‡z(OCoLC)58594693 ‡z(OCoLC)62677782 ‡z(OCoLC)438410499 ‡z(OCoLC)994696712 ‡z(OCoLC)994698278 ‡z(OCoLC)994763292 ‡z(OCoLC)994793624 ‡z(OCoLC)994854622 ‡z(OCoLC)995112021 ‡z(OCoLC)995216364 ‡z(OCoLC)995278738 ‡z(OCoLC)995483703 ‡z(OCoLC)995760359
040 . ‡aDLC ‡beng ‡erda ‡cDLC ‡dNLGGC ‡dBTCTA ‡dYDXCP ‡dRMC ‡dEYM ‡dUAB ‡dZWZ ‡dB@L ‡dDEBBG ‡dEYP ‡dHRH ‡dOCLCO ‡dOCLCF ‡dOCLCO ‡dOCLCQ ‡dMQ9 ‡dXFG ‡dOCLCA ‡dWSL ‡dXFH ‡dOCLCO ‡dALLUV ‡dOCL ‡dSFR ‡dHRY ‡dOCLCQ ‡dTCJ ‡dOCLCQ ‡dWRS ‡dTAW ‡dNMC ‡dQT4 ‡dTYC ‡dOCLCQ ‡dBRL
08200. ‡a813/.54 ‡220
1001 . ‡aGaines, Ernest J., ‡d1933-2019, ‡eauthor. ‡0(CARDINAL)353542
24512. ‡aA lesson before dying / ‡cErnest J. Gaines.
264 1. ‡aNew York : ‡bAlfred A. Knopf, ‡c1994.
264 4. ‡c©1993
300 . ‡a256 pages ; ‡c23 cm.
336 . ‡atext ‡btxt ‡2rdacontent
337 . ‡aunmediated ‡bn ‡2rdamedia
338 . ‡avolume ‡bnc ‡2rdacarrier
4901 . ‡aOprah's book club.
500 . ‡aPublisher, dates, and paging may vary.
520 . ‡aIn his first novel in ten years, Ernest Gaines, the highly acclaimed author of the best-selling The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, brings us a wrenching story of death and identity in a small Cajun Louisiana community in the late 1940s. A young black named Jefferson is a reluctant party in a shoot-out in a liquor store in which the three other men involved are all killed, including the white store owner. Jefferson, the only survivor, is accused of murder. At the trial, the essence of the defense is that the accused, a lowly form of existence lacking even a modicum of intelligence, is incapable of premeditated murder. His lawyer argues: "Why, I would just as soon put a hog in the electric chair as this." But Jefferson is condemned to death.
5218 . ‡a750L ‡bLexile
5260 . ‡aAccelerated Reader AR ‡bUG ‡c4.4 ‡d11.0 ‡z10287.
5260 . ‡aAccelerated Reader AR ‡bUG ‡c4.4 ‡d11 ‡z10287.
650 0. ‡aAfrican American men ‡vFiction. ‡0(CARDINAL)353543
650 0. ‡aDeath row inmates ‡vFiction. ‡0(CARDINAL)350683
650 0. ‡aRace relations ‡vFiction. ‡0(CARDINAL)305010
650 0. ‡aFriendship ‡vFiction. ‡0(CARDINAL)330206
650 7. ‡aFriendships. ‡2homoit ‡0(CARDINAL)871541
651 0. ‡aLouisiana ‡vFiction. ‡0(CARDINAL)342681
655 7. ‡aHistorical fiction. ‡2lcgft ‡0(CARDINAL)336259
655 7. ‡aNovels. ‡2lcgft ‡0(CARDINAL)336215
830 0. ‡aOprah's book club. ‡0(CARDINAL)220663
902 . ‡aMARCIVE 201909
902 . ‡aMARCIVE 201912
902 . ‡aMARCIVE 202006
902 . ‡aMARCIVE 202203
902 . ‡aMARCIVE 202309
902 . ‡aMARCIVE 202406
901 . ‡a969987 ‡bOCoLC ‡c969987 ‡tbiblio ‡soclc