ronsavjr's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
joelaw's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Read for Well Read Mom’s book club. This is a work of fiction - Jane Pittman is a character. I wish she was real. I really liked her spunk. Billed as covering the black American experience from slavery to civil rights, I guess technically it does, but it really covers a woman’s life from the end of the civil war (and freedom) until the start of civil rights. People like to think the slaves were freed and then all was well (except for the Klu Klux) but that’s far from reality. This book immerses you in exactly what that reality entailed and how dependent on the white man many of them were still. They needed jobs and so they worked for the very people who had enslaved them, living nearly the same lifestyle, as their pittance of a paycheck was now docked for supplies, clothing and food. There have been many books written about slavery and about civil rights but not too many novels about the period in between.
author_d_r_oestreicher's review against another edition
4.0
Ernest J. Gaines’s The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman spans 100 years from Miss Jane’s childhood as a slave on a Louisiana plantation to the Civil Rights era of the 1960s. Through the Civil War, reconstruction, and Jim Crow, Miss Jane survives the everyday deprivation and abuse of Black life in Louisiana. She does this with dignity and optimism. Her story ends with the murder of The One who was leading the people to a protest. The protest goes ahead: “Just a little piece of him is dead,” I said. “The rest of him is waiting for us in Bayonne.” Miss Jane is optimistic to the end, ignorant of what will happen after the 1960s, and the need for Black Lives Matter fifty years later. I found the book’s celebration of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement as a turning point sad.
For my expanded notes: https://1book42day.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-autobiography-of-miss-jane-pittman.html
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For my expanded notes: https://1book42day.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-autobiography-of-miss-jane-pittman.html
“As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.”
Check out https://amzn.to/2SpaDMN to see my books.
Check out https://amazon.com/shop/influencer-20171115075 for book recommendations.
tifflovesbooks80's review against another edition
4.0
It took me a little while to get into this one, but after I finally got into the storyline, I really enjoyed it. This books follows the story of Miss Jane Pittman as she starts out as a slave all the way through the beginnings of the Civil Rights movement. She tells her life story and shares her experiences and what she has learned throughout her life. She is a very strong female character who has seen her share of struggles and has made the best of her life.
ladyquestion's review against another edition
5.0
(listened to on Audible)
A little hard to follow at times because it's written as though someone is rambling on about events in their life plus there's a lot of different names to keep up with as they ramble, BUT overall a good story. A reminder of slavery and the after effects. Shocking, sad, horrifying at times. Not overly vulgar or descriptive, just descriptive enough for you to get the picture and move the story along.
A little hard to follow at times because it's written as though someone is rambling on about events in their life plus there's a lot of different names to keep up with as they ramble, BUT overall a good story. A reminder of slavery and the after effects. Shocking, sad, horrifying at times. Not overly vulgar or descriptive, just descriptive enough for you to get the picture and move the story along.
cosmicbookworm's review against another edition
5.0
An engaging read. Provides valuable insight. I was drawn to reading from reading Cicely Tyson's autobiography.
allieeveryday's review against another edition
3.0
I wish I had liked this more. I loved A Lesson Before Dying, and so I was predisposed to like Gaines' (fictional) Autobiography too, but alas. The premise is awesome! The story of a woman born into slavery who lives through 110 years of history, including some of the Civil War, Emancipation and its aftermath, a whole bunch of wars that are mentioned but not in-depth, and the start of the Civil Rights movement.
So it pains me to say that it should be good stuff, because that would be a fascinating life! The first half was excellent and interesting. But I felt like after the first, say, 50 years of Miss Jane's life, there was not enough focus to make it compelling - especially since she lived in the same town of Samson, "Luzana" for the entirety of the next 60 years. The last half of the book dragged; she continued to work on the land or in the house of the white people. Other people who worked there over the years are mentioned a time or two, then never again. The last part with the boy chosen to be "The One" to save them bothered me a lot, mostly because he had all this expectation on him, but no one ever communicated their expectations of this kid, and were just disappointed with him all the time for not living up to what they thought he should be.
Otherwise, Jane just lives on her little slice of land and farms her little garden and listens to baseball on the radio, which sorry, is dull.
I'm bummed that I am not more enthused. Hopefully this will make for a good book discussion next week.
So it pains me to say that it should be good stuff, because that would be a fascinating life! The first half was excellent and interesting. But I felt like after the first, say, 50 years of Miss Jane's life, there was not enough focus to make it compelling - especially since she lived in the same town of Samson, "Luzana" for the entirety of the next 60 years. The last half of the book dragged; she continued to work on the land or in the house of the white people. Other people who worked there over the years are mentioned a time or two, then never again. The last part with the boy chosen to be "The One" to save them bothered me a lot, mostly because he had all this expectation on him, but no one ever communicated their expectations of this kid, and were just disappointed with him all the time for not living up to what they thought he should be.
Otherwise, Jane just lives on her little slice of land and farms her little garden and listens to baseball on the radio, which sorry, is dull.
I'm bummed that I am not more enthused. Hopefully this will make for a good book discussion next week.
rachremmes's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
zezee's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
cpruskee's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0