Voices from the Quarters: the Fiction of Ernest J. Gaines.Voices From the Quarters: The Fiction of Ernest J. Gaines by Mary Ellen Doyle Louisiana State University Press This article needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Alone, primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of this article are not sufficient for an accurate encyclopedia article. September 2003 $14.95, ISBN ISBN abbr. International Standard Book Number ISBN International Standard Book Number ISBN n abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m 0-807-12910-0 It is not difficult to End a plethora of reviews and literary criticism of the works of Ernest J. Gaines, best known for The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, published in 1971. There are expansive discussions in a number of black-and-white journals and publications where critics have thoroughly--and in many instances thoughtfully--dissected his short stories and novels. No need to exhaust yourself searching for these precious gems. Mary Ellen Doyle has gathered and sifted the more valuable ones in Voices From the Quarters. At the same time, she has added her own sensitive take on Gaines's life and productive writings. Right from her opening remarks, Doyle situates her subject geographically. Her descriptions of River Lake, Oscar and New Roads, and the backwater plantations of Louisiana CODE, OF LOUISIANA. In 1822, Peter Derbigny, Edward Livingston, and Moreau Lislet, were selected by the legislature to revise and amend the civil code, and to add to it such laws still in force as were not included therein. resonate res·o·nate v. res·o·nat·ed, res·o·nat·ing, res·o·nates v.intr. 1. To exhibit or produce resonance or resonant effects. 2. with Creole, Cajun and black culture; and she deftly illustrates how this environment impacted Gaines: "... The largely flat, dark, fertile soil, the immense pecan and live-oak trees hung with Spanish moss Spanish moss, fibrous grayish-green epiphyte (Tillandsia usneoides) that hangs on trees of tropical America and the Southern states, also called Florida, southern, or long moss. , and, if the ride is in summer," she writes of the landscape, it is the intensity of heat that so shapes the moods and even the decisions of many of Gaines's characters. Before analyzing Gaines's short stories, Doyle provides a chapter on Gaines's life, particularly Iris early years working the land, thirsting for education, and eventually moving with his family to California. Later, to his good fortune, the vibrant Louisiana years would be limned and become the source of his inspiration, moments he worm return to again and again for motivation, plots, place and characterization. Doyle has totally immersed im·merse tr.v. im·mersed, im·mers·ing, im·mers·es 1. To cover completely in a liquid; submerge. 2. To baptize by submerging in water. 3. herself in Gaines's writings. This expertise is evident when she compares the emerging Gaines with the finished product, showing his evolution as a storyteller from his first novel, Catherine Carmier (1964) to the last, A Lesson Before Dying (1993), which, along with The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, has been disgracefully dis·grace·ful adj. Bringing or warranting disgrace; shameful. dis·grace  ful·ly adv. banned from some school libraries. The lessons distilled from Doyle's careful reading of Gaines's works are many, but none more instructive than her passion for his work, effectively leading you to turn or to return to Gaines's books with a better understanding of his influences and intentions.--Reviewed by Herb Boyd |
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