A Lesson Before Dying
Ranked #36 in Oprah, Ranked #50 in Dying — see more rankings.
A Lesson Before Dying is set in a small Cajun community in the late 1940s. Jefferson, a young black man, is an unwitting party to a liquor store shoot out in which three men are killed; the only survivor, he is convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Grant Wiggins, who left his hometown for the university, has returned to the plantation school to teach. As he struggles with his decision whether to stay or escape to another state, his aunt and Jefferson's godmother persuade him to visit Jefferson in his cell and impart his learning and his pride to Jefferson before his death. In the end,... more
Rankings by Category
A Lesson Before Dying is ranked in the following categories:
- #57 in African American
- #90 in Prison
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