The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman: Ernest J. Gaines' novel of the long journey to freedom The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Ernest J. Gaineswas a selection chosen by members of On the Southern Literary Trail as a group read for January, 2016. Special thanks to Trail member Jane for nominating this work. A Note from the incomplete reader The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman was originally published by Ernest J. Gainesthrough the Dial Press in 1971. A second printing followed

Ernest J. Gaines has given us a fictional autobiography of a woman who has attained legendary status in literature, and in film history as well. Miss Jane lived through black history, first as a slave in Louisiana, then as a strong, courageous woman trying to maintain her sense of worth and dignity while being treated as less than human by white southerners. The journey took her from being set free as a slave at 10 years old through 100 years, from reconstruction to the Civil Rights era, at whic...

Miss Jane Pittman is a spunky survivor, a strong black woman over 100 years old. She narrates the story of her life from her days as a slave, after emancipation, and during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. In a Missouri Review interview in 1999, Ernest J. Gaines said that he grew up on a plantation in Louisiana around his handicapped aunt and other older people who visited her. Jane is a fictional character based on the kinds of experiences those people might have gone through, using their vocab...

Oh, Jane, you are an icon, unforgettable to those of us who embarked upon your life’s journey through the pages of The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. This is a fictional account of Miss Jane’s life created by Ernest J. Gaines and has become a classic of African-American literature. Miss Jane tells her story in her own words as she remembers the events of her lifetime spanning 100 years. She begins telling about when she was a young slave girl in Louisiana at the end of the Civil War. She wa...

How does one write a novel that encompasses the entire black experience from slavery to the Civil Rights Era? Well, if the author is Ernest J. Gaines then you tell it through the eyes of someone who lived through it all. begins with Ticey, a ten or eleven year-old slave girl who assumes a new name, Jane, at the advice of a Yankee soldier. It ends almost 100 years later when Jane, now Miss Jane Pittman, becomes witness to the birth of a new era of freedom. This is a story that one thinks one know...

The author using the guise of an autobiography, has Miss Jane Pittman, who lives to be around 110, telling her story and it's quite an interesting one as she lived through being a slave, to emancipation, and on through to the civil rights era. I think I read this first in Junior High-school , that's probably why it reminded me of a school assignment. It has it's dramatic moments but overall Jane comes across as a bit unemotional and the book generally lacked the detail I wanted more of. I also d...

I read this as a schoolboy and was captivated by it. I’d like to read his A Lesson Before Dying, which is said to be his master work.

I love Gaines easy writing style. One the best protagonist in southern literature. Excellent!

Gaines channels the voice of an elderly woman with such authenticity that I felt as if I were sitting on Jane’s front porch listening to her reminisce. Miss Jane, born into slavery a decade before the Emancipation Proclamation, lives to be over 100 years old, a life that sees a significant piece of American history. Rather than angry or beaten down from the discrimination and injustice she endured, she grows in confidence, the respect of others and her own sense of self-worth. I absolutely love

I am kind of stingy with my ratings -- I would make it a 2 1/2 if I could, because it was better than "okay" but I didn't quite "like" it. I didn't DISlike it, either. After reading "The Help," I wanted to read some more historical fiction taking place during the Civil Rights Movement. This biography was suggested to me by the librarian, and it was a pretty easy read. It followed the life of Jane Pittman from her childhood as a slave through emancipation, trying to get out of Louisiana, then as

Listened to the audiobook, and the voice actor--and the story--were perfect.

This powerful autobiography was the catalyst that lead me to reading more slave narrative in the late 90's.

Every since I was a little girl I have had a strange obsession with the past. 19th century black slavery is my favorite era, than 1940's, than 1960's. I love the Harlem Renaissance, I love all things civil rights, but it's something about 19th century slavery. Cabins, white women dresses with the petticoat underneath, dirt roads, the "big house," horse and buggies for cars, the dialect, the stories, and most importantly the messages. My mother's ex-boyfriend forced me to watch the entire miniser...

This is fiction, you guys! It is written in "the guise of tape-recorded recollections of a woman born as a slave in the 1850s." This line is taken directly from the book.The book description here at GR goes on to say:"In this woman Ernest Gaines has created a legendary figure, a woman equipped to stand beside William Faulkner's Dilsey in The Sound And The Fury."There is one huge difference. Faulkner's writing skills are so very much better than Gaines'. The two are incomparable. Even if Faulkner...

Oh how I love this book!A straightforward novel told by an unforgettable protagonist, the 110-year-old former slave Jane Pittman. Her story takes us through the perils of American history, from the period when slavery was ended all the way through the Civil Rights era. The most tender scenes here show her deep love for her friends, though she always talks about everyone in her life with candor and often with humor. The audiobook, narrated by the late Lynne Thigpen, brings the vernacular of Jane'...

Finished this on election day as I observed how much has changed and how much has not changed in this country. Jane Pittman is a woman around 110 years old as she tells about her life from a slave to a protester on the cusp of the Civil Rights movement. When Jane is told that she is no longer a slave, she decides to travel to Ohio. She never makes it out of Louisiana and never really has true freedom. Life is tough during Reconstruction, but gets worse during the Jim Crow period. Almost every bl...

I read this book in two sittings. It wasn't easy at first, but once you got introduced to Miss Jane Pittman the rest was easy. How could you not love a character, a woman, so enduring? How could you not weep at the loss of her only "son". This story is written richly, and with so much emotion that you can't help but to pull for her. Though, the subject matter was dark, the book itself wasn't dark. There were times when you heart ached because of all the suffering, and despair. When they were hop...

I'm a little salty about that ending! Miss Jane Pittman was a hoot though.

My daughter was assigned to read books by Ernest J. Gaines for school, and in order to discuss them with her I agreed to read them too.I done seen a hundred and ten or more years, and I don’t mind seeing a few more. The Master will let me know when He wants His servant Up High. Till then I will have some of them children read me the Bible, read me the papers, and I’ll do all the walking I can. And I will eat vanilla ice cream which I loves and enjoys.Although it's called an autobiography, it's a...

I enjoyed this story from beginning to end.

I have seen the movie starring Cicily Tyson a couple of times. When she passed away I decided to finally read the book. As is usually the case, the book is much deeper and richer than the movie version. The plus side is that I can hear Ms Tyson's voice in my head as I read.

February is Black History Month. I usually attempt to read a book about black history or read a book written by a black author or both. This year I decided to read a novel I read back in 1971 when the book first came out. Since then the book has become a classic. A movie was made in 1974 starring Cicely Tyson. I sort of remember the movie was good. I think I shall check to see if Amazon has the movie and will watch it after I finish the book.The book is fiction but is written in the style of ora...

Ernest Gaines creates a legendary character in Miss Jane Pittman, a woman of 110 whose tape-recorded recollections and heroic experiences manage to carry the reader through American history and race relations from the Civil War through the beginnings of the Civil Rights Movement. I was reminded of 'The Odyssey', 'Little Big Man', 'Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All', and other novels that use this form, but Miss Jane Pittman's voice might be the most memorable of them all. Quick paced, po...

The first half of this novel is the best adventure story I’ve read since I was a kid. What could be a slave escape novel is sadly a post-slavery escape novel, told in Jane’s wonderful voice. The second half is less and less about Jane, and it’s sometimes forced, in order to bring the Civil Rights era into the life of one woman, but the second half also well written, although the voice becomes less important and less special.

This is a very impressive epic adorned with humor and founded in the lessons of overcoming tragedy either through battle or sheer resilience. As a novel itself it is wonderfully written in a lyrical prose with great, revealing dialogue. It is, however, much more than a novel.I had to read it over ten years ago in eighth grade history class, yet I can still recall the many different stories comprising the biography, nearly chronicling all the various manifestations of race relations throughout Am...

The voice this author had impressed me and was the first thing that made this book a true classic. His writing was declamatory and very clear. I respected how the author could tell the stories of other characters through the narrative of Miss. Jane Pittman and make each one, from the teachers to her son unforgettable. At first when Jane Pittman didn't achive arriving in Colorado I was concerned with what the author was going to do next and how he could make her into a heroine. She was a strong p...

Ernest Gaines has been trying for so long to get in interview with the legendary Miss.Jane Pittman. This book practically covers her whole life story going from her childhood when she was still in slavery to when the war was going to her sons life to where she is now.I have read the book so many times but i always feel that I am learning something new every time I read it again.As of my response to this story I feel like he did a really good job putting it together and making sure that he got al...

Overall this is a great book. I'm wondering why it took me so long to read it. Seems like everyone around me had this as required reading in high school. I haven't even seen the movie yet (which I will be doing soon). This book focused on Miss Jane Pittman, who through her narrative, described what happened through different time periods, including slavery up until the Civil Rights period. While it kept my interest for the first half of the book, near the end I started to lose interest. Maybe it...

I remember watching the movie "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman" with Cicely Tyson. I remember reading this years ago. I read it on my kindle this time. A very good historical novel. a young man goes to the house of Jane Pittman. she is over 100 years old. the current time is the early 1960s. it is during the civil rights time. Miss Jane Pittman is being interviewed since she was about 11 when the civil war ended and she was a slave at the time. This book takes Miss Jane from that time to

Gaines is a master with voices. I came away from the book feeling sad, because I wanted to spend more time with Miss Jane. I also learned some surprising things about history-- from slavery and the civil war, to the civil rights period--details I haven't seen elsewhere.It's hard to say which I like more-- A Lesson Before Dying or this book. I think Lesson is probably richer on more levels, but like I said, Miss Jane it just someone you really want to know. I can't wait to read more of Gaines' bo...