Editorial Reviews
Book Description
This is a novel in the guise of
the tape-recorded recollection of a 110-year-old black woman who was born a
slave but who lived to see the black militancy of the 1960s. The secret of
this book's success is the characterization of Miss Jane. She is a master of
her people's language. But more than that, she is unsurpassed as a
storyteller.
"Ernest Gaines has written a book that comes down on the side of time, on
the side of the future." (B-O-T Editorial Review Board)
The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature
Novel by Ernest J. Gaines,
published in 1971. Set in rural southern Louisiana, the novel spans 100
years of American history--from the early 1860s to the onset of the civil
rights movement in the 1960s--in following the life of the elderly Jane
Pittman, who witnessed those years. A child at the end of the Civil War,
Jane survives a massacre by former Confederate soldiers. She serves as a
steadying influence for several black men who work hard to achieve dignity
and economic as well as political...
Spotlight Reviews
An incredibly valuable historical resource!, March 30, 2003
I'd thought that it wouldn't be possible for a
man to write GOOD fiction from a woman's point of view. "She's Come Undone"
proved my point. "Memoirs of A Geisha" proved me wrong - and I thought I'd
never again find a well written fictional piece about a woman and written by
a man. Ernest J. Gaines proved me once again wrong in "The Autobiography of
Miss Jane Pittman."
Jane, born Ticey, was "interviewed" by a man who
was interested in the life of a woman who'd lived from Slavery to Civil
Rights. Jane was given her name by a Yankee soldier whom she'd been told to
give water by her Mistress, and it was Jane's name from then on.
When the slaves were freed, she set out with
several going North. Secesh men who'd been soldiers during the Civil War (in
other words, days before!) killed everyone they could find - everyone except
Jane and the son of another former slave. Jane was either ten or eleven
years old at the time. She traveled with the child, Ned, and raised him as
her own.
This book goes through her life, through the
triumphs and the disappointments, through the times she spent on different
plantations and doing different jobs. Working my way through the vernacular
was a challenge, but it added credibility to the story. Hatred based on skin
color is rampant throughout the book; so is Miss Jane's knowing "her place."
Nonetheless, she tells with touching sorrow of the love of a white man for a
Creole teacher. Happiest in the fields, she was incredibly profound when she
spoke of talking to the trees: "Anybody caught talking to a chinaball tree
or a thorn tree got to be crazy. But when you talk to an oak tree that's
been here all these years, and knows more than you'll ever know, it's not
craziness; it's just the nobility you respect."
Her stories give new meaning to "Freedom's just another word for nothing
left to lose." There are those who will dissect the book for symbolism. It's
not necessary to do so; "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman" carries
itself just fine.
Civil war to civil rights, July 10, 2003
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Reviewer:
FrKurt Messick from Bloomington, IN USA
|
It surprises me how many people think that 'The
Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman' is an actual
biographical/autobiographical work. It is not -- it is fiction. It is a
brilliantly crafted work interweaving historical references and
recollections into an overall framework of the life of a woman born into
slavery who survived to the point of the beginnings of the Civil Rights
movement of the 1960s.
The style of the book is one of oral history.
The editor interviewed and transcribed Miss Jane's stories beginning in 1962
and going on for nearly a year. The editor also talked to other people,
particularly when Miss Jane would fall silent or forget things (he couldn't
tell if she was doing this deliberately or not), and also talked to people
after Miss Jane's funeral.
In a small space, the author (who is to be
distinguished from the editor, a character in the novel) shows his intention
-- this is to be an overarching story of black experience from the Civil War
to Civil Rights, seen primarily through the experience of one woman, but
incorporating and representing the experiences of all others...
The author, Ernest Gaines, was born on a
Louisiana plantation. His descriptions and situations are authentic and
mesmerizing. He left Louisiana and was educated at San Francisco State and
Stanford. He has other novels and collections of short stories, but The
Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman published in 1971 is undoubtedly the work
for which he will be remembered. Cicely Tyson's portrayal of Miss Jane in
the film of the same name is an endearing performance, but one misses much
if one relies solely on the film (plus some of the details are changed,
sometimes inexplicably). One thing I would recommend is watching the film
and reading the book as companions to each other -- some of the dialogue in
the film supplements the book (like Miss Jane's final speech to the
reporter), and the book fills in (as all books do) many of the details
glossed over in the film.
All Customer Reviews
Avg. Customer Review:
110 years of History, January 22, 2003
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Reviewer: An
Amazon.com Customer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
Miss. Jane Pittman is unsurpassed as a
storyteller; this book is adapted from the oral dictation of a slave born
before the civil war all the way through the 1960s to when blacks were
gaining some respect.
This is an elaborate book starting at when Jane is
serving water to different sets of soldiers. Her continual albeit fake
admiration of the white men and woman is incredible. I could not imagine
faking my way through life of liking persons. Her story tells us of how it
was like to be hated, beat, tortured and given no respect whatsoever. It
makes one wonder in awe how the world has come to be.
Her story is poignant and mesmerizing. She speaks of
how her life as slave was . . . how she was 'married' and bore her children.
What amazes me most, is how she never lost her dream of becoming free; of
never losing respect for 'the white people'. After all they did to her and
her people, she never hated them. Jane Pittman felt this was her life, and
God was going to do what he felt was right. What an incredible, selfless way
to live!!
However true this book is, it seemed fake. Fake because I've never really
known such injustice and racism like Miss. Jane Pittman suffered. This is a
real book from a real woman. With the use of the language to the stories.
For years I would start the book and it would never be completed. I am glad
I have now. This is a book sure to be etched in persons minds forever.
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, November 26, 2001
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Reviewer: Carrie
Summers from Holton, IN USA |
This is one of the truest fiction books I have
ever read. Gaines has a way of pulling you right in the story with Miss
Jane! I actually felt that I was right there on the porch sitting with
Gaines as he listened to her. I could feel the pain that Gaines describes as
Miss Jane goes through the trials and tribulations after the civil war. How
the black slaves felt when they were "set" free, known as "freedmen". I
cried and laughed with Miss Jane throughout the book, reading this book gave
me a true feeling of how things were for the blacks. Gaines does not leave
out many of the brutal or violent details of the time. Gaines takes you
right along with him on the journey of Miss Jane and Ned. I feel the
language in the book was very appropriate for a lady from Louisiana. Gaines
gave great insight on how the language was "really" spoken during that time.
Gaines uses this book as an example of racism and discrimination. The theme
of this story is that of the perseverance of the human spirit against
persecution. I think this is a well-written book that helps you see what it
was like to live as a black in those times in the American south.
