A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest Gaines (and a question. . .)

I felt compelled to write a short description of the book I just finished, A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest Gaines. This book was a recommendation from a teaching colleague, so I had it in a huge stack, waiting to be read.

When I selected it, I was pleasantly surprised. This book was set in the "Cajun South" sometime shortly after the Vietnam War. The premise of the book is that a white man is dead on a black man's property. A group of old men and the white woman who runs the property all show up and claim to have killed the white man to help cover up for the person they believe is culpable. The story reveals the truth about the tensions that run deep between races in the south during that time.

Yet the plot was not what motivated me to write a comment. What I loved about the book was the point of view the story was told in. Each chapter assumed a different character's voice to tell the story. Now, I have read other stories like that before, but this is the first one I have ever read where the story continues even with the change of voice, meaning there is never any "backstory" about what the character felt about a previous incident. The story unravels through careful selection of character voice. Very cool!

Totally enjoyed this book- I absolutely recommend it.

By the way, I was wondering if I should begin separating my book posts onto a separate blog. I was thinking about a blog where people could also post discussions about books they are reading as well. It would serve as a mini book discussion area. Would any of you have interest??