Bloodline: Five Stories [Paperback]

Ernest J. Gaines (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 28, 1997

In these five stories, Gaines returns to the cane fields, sharecroppers' shacks, and decaying plantation houses of Louisiana, the terrain of his great novels A Gathering of Old Men and A Lesson Before Dying. As rendered by Gaines, this country becomes as familiar, and as haunted by cruelty, suffering, and courage, as Ralph Ellison's Harlem or Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha County.

STORIES INCLUDE:

A Long Day in November

The Sky Is Gray

Three Men

Bloodline

Just Like a Tree

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

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From the Inside Flap

In these five stories, Gaines returns to the cane fields, sharecroppers' shacks, and decaying plantation houses of Louisiana, the terrain of his great novels A Gathering of Old Men and A Lesson Before Dying. As rendered by Gaines, this country becomes as familiar, and as haunted by cruelty, suffering, and courage, as Ralph Ellison's Harlem or Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha County.

STORIES INCLUDE:

A Long Day in November

The Sky Is Gray

Three Men

Bloodline

Just Like a Tree

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; 1st Vintage Contemporaries ed edition (October 28, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067978165X
• ISBN-13: 978-0679781653
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.6 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #520,624 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Short Story Collection, November 25, 2000

By 

Beryl Kalisa (Atlanta, Georgia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bloodline: Five Stories (Paperback)

Bloodline is an excellent collection of 5 short stories that describe interesting plantation life in rural Louisana. As usual,Mr. Gaines, brings dignity , respect, and admiration to the ordianry African American characters. None of the characters are victims who are wise, who understand the system that has been designe to keep them oprreseed. In the genius understanding, they weave the situation sot hat they are clearly the winners even though the oppressors never recognize it. Above all, Mr. Gaines portrays African American males as real men inspite of the odds they encounter. This is a wonderful read and is a must. I have read Catherine Carmier(love it) and Lessons Before Dyinng. Plan to read The Gathering of Old Men and Of Love snd Dust next.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A collection of stories characteristic of southern lifestyle, August 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Bloodline: Five Stories (Paperback)

Although Ernest Gaines manipulates the subjects of his former novels into this novel, it accurately portrays a side of southern life which extends beyond the general theme of racism. In addition to depicting honorable morals, Gaines portrays the black race as a generally honorable people. Despite shortcomings and tribulation, the main characters of the novel produce an honorable aura about man and his accepted levels of change.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best, October 4, 2005

By 

Lee Tasey (Lincoln, NE) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bloodline: Five Stories (Paperback)

I was going for a Ph.D. in philosophy and wanted to be a professor until I read this book. I dropped out of the graduate program and started to write fiction.

This book of short fiction is dark and haunting. The first two stories are the best (A Long Day in November and The Sky is Gray). The stories are simple with a lot of social commentaries of rural Louisiana life. Both deal with black kids trying to make it in a white world.

This is a fine collection of stories by a young writer crafting his voice. The writing is simple--one can see the influence of Hemingway--yet there are a lot of social commentaries and subtle psychological insights that Gaines would later hone to perfection. Buy this book. The first two stories are classics and should be read by all people.

Also recommended: How to Lose Your Faith in Divinity School