Helpful Score: 2
Ernest Gaines was raised on a sugar cane plantation just west of Baton Rouge. Bloodline is a collection of short stories about life around there 1940-1960. To me, his greatest strength is his compassion. Even when he portrays pretty despicable people, he shows some consideration for their point of view and their basic human dignity. The title story concerns a young black man, very militant, named Copper. The founder of the plantation was, biologically, his uncle. he makes everyone very uneasy when he returns and demands recogition by the son who has inherited the plantation.
Five stories by a powerful, contemporary black writer. In addition to the title story it contains A Long Day In November, The Sky Is Grey, Three Men, and Just Like a Tree. All are set in his usual Louisiana Cajun plantation country: post-slavery, yet not quite.
