Customer Reviews

Of Love and Dust

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"Of Love And Dust" is a page-turning, please don't bother me can't you see that I'm reading books. By the author of "A Lesson Before Dying", "Of Love And Dust" is a story that takes place on plantation in 1948 in Louisana. The story is narrated by Jim Kelly, a black man that drives the tractor, and he tells the story of what happened when a young man named Marcus, who is awaiting trial for murder is "bonded" to the plantation to work. Marcus soon bumps head with Sidney BonBon, the cajun overseer, and plots revenge against him by trying to seduce Bonbon's black mistress, Pauline and Bonbon's wife, Louise. Told in the smooth, flowing, yet powerful style that is expected from Gaines, the novel is about the relationships and social interactions between the races and what happened when some dares to follow their hearts and break from tradition or standards that are socially acceptable. One of the things, and there are many, that I loved about this novel is that there is a good deal of humor. It is definitely a book to read.

One of Ernest Gaines' greatest talents lies in his ability to make the reader reconsider initial assumptions and prejudices about the characters in his stories. "Of Love and Dust" introduces us to Marcus, a young African-American man awaiting trial for the murder of another man. Apparently more concerned about his flashy wardrobe than the moral burden he should bear for his crime, Marcus quickly alienates much of the black community he enters when he goes to work on a Louisiana plantation owned by the white man who put up his bail. Often disrespectful of those who offer him advice out of concern for his well-being, in the beginning he comes across as a two-bit punk.

But soon his actions catch us in a moral crossfire. On one hand, we admire him because he refuses to kowtow to the racist customs that defined life in the South in the 1940s. On the other hand, however, he shows no respect or sympathy for the deep-set fear that pervades the plantation community, whose members know they will all suffer the violent consequences if anyone tries to turn the caste system on its head. (Gaines' descriptions of that fear make it almost palpable.)

The story takes off when, pushed to the limit by Bonbon, the plantation's Cajun overseer, Marcus is consumed by a quest for revenge. Marcus' first attempt to emasculate Bonbon comes with his unsuccessful seduction of Pauline, Bonbon's African-American mistress and the mother of two of his children. Rebuffed, Marcus turns his attention to Bonbon's white wife, Louise, a lonely and spiritless young woman who seeks from Marcus the love and attention her husband has saved for Pauline.

As the tale moves inexorably toward its predictable conclusion, Gaines adds to the dimension of the characters, gradually revealing how their actions have been influenced -- or even orchestrated -- by powers beyond their control. "Me and you -- what we is?" asks Bonbon. "We little people...They make us do what they want us to do, and they don't tell us nothing. We don't have nothing to say 'bout it, do we?"

Our initial black-and-white assumptions dissolve to gray, and we begin to view with greater sympathy the people caught up in conflict between their greatest desires and the restrictions of society. Even under pressure from insurmountable external powers, however, those people still rebel, in small or great ways, affirming their humanity, their spirit of independence, and their love for one another.

Gaines has done it again. He has once again captured the spiritof the Southern Black Male. He like Alice Walker (who captures theSouthern woman) captures his characters spirit and their soul. He is an excellent writer. This book is great, it is easy reading and it addresses the hypocrisy of social and class standings like no other writer I have ever read. I have read four of Gaines' novels and all of them leave me breatless. I always want more even when the book is over. I am now about to read Bloodline and I can't wait. Mr. Gaines if you are reading this, PLEASE KEEP WRITING YOU ARE THE GREATEST!!!!!!!

Gaines created some great characters and the scene description really paints vivid imagery, but the story doesn't end with the climax that you'd expect from this type of story. Gaines methodically leads the reader and plants the idea of a big show down only to give away the ending in such a way that the last few chapters of the book sort of fizzle. However, due to the smooth story telling style that you'd expect from Gaines, you stay till the finish just enjoying the rythm and end up realizing that there will be no big climax long before the pages end.

Gaines enjoys toying with race and the American class system while subtly preaching to the reader. Not his best Novel, but a good Saturday afternoon read.

Marcus is the hot, new seasoning added to the quarters of the Hebert Plantation. He ain't staying long though. He got 'thangs to do' - wear flashy clothes, sweet talk women, and enjoy life. His ambitions are not far beyond his reach. The only thing standing in Marcus' way is Bonbon, the Cajun overseer who rides a black stallion in the fields by day and a black filly in the quarters by night (Pauline).

Jim is a great storyteller in this novel as he tells what he sees, hears and thinks. His narration gives readers a firsthand account of the people, their vernacular and surroundings in the quarters. He makes you fan with others battling the flies and hot, humid weather, squint as the dust flies, and laugh during some of their juke joint gatherings. He even makes you feel their longings of love at night. As the story climaxes, there is a great hush over the quarters. Sshh... keep reading. Jim concludes the story with a dramatic showdown that brings to bear the agony of all Pointe Coupee, Louisiana residents.

Ernest Gaines blends his down-home plantation experiences with cajun seasonings and brews an excellent tale. The dialogue is superb and the repetitions for emphasis, I loved this book... I loved this book! I look forward to venturing to the Bayou through other novels by Gaines.

Of Love and Dust / 0-679-75248-X

When a young black man is forced to work on a white man's farm to "work off" his prison sentence, he astonishes his more moderate peers by entirely refusing to accept the situation. Rather than capitulate, accept the situation, and "make the best of it", he chafes under the cruelties of the landowner, even though his stubborn refusal causes him intense pain and fatigue. Our narrator is at first surprised and then horrified as the rebellious young man continues to rebel - even to the point of seducing the landowner's wife, and running off with her in the night.

Racial relations are explored carefully in Gaines' novels, and "Of Love and Dust" is no exception. The landowner is not explicitly evil; he is friendly to the narrator, and he has a relationship with one of the women who lives on his land. He loves the woman dearly as well as the two children he has with her, but he refuses to acknowledge that his position of privilege leaves the narrator no room to refuse his friendship, nor his "lover" any room to refuse his advances. At the same time, our young protagonist is no angel: he is rude to the narrator and brusquely brushes aside the narrator's attempt to help the young man. His seduction of the insecure lady of the house is marked with violence and revenge, only later blossoming into a rough-edged love.

Like all of Gaines' novels, there are no easy answers here. The young protagonist is undoubtedly guilty of manslaughter. Some penance should be made, but it does not seem right that the black prison members should be sent out to work white-owned fields as their "punishment". And yet, the produce is necessary and needed and the prisoners are given more freedoms than they would have in prison; on the plantation they have access to their women friends, as well as other luxuries. The situation is clearly wrong, but it is unclear how it can be ultimately fixed. Perhaps the answer is hidden in the title: only love and time can remedy this situation.

~ Ana Mardoll

Everyone should read this eye catching and exiting book. Once you start to read you will not put back down.