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Book Review of A Gathering of Old Men

A Gathering of Old Men
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This is a novel that is written in an unusual format. It is told through the separate recollections of several of the participants in a bizarre confrontation. In the 1970s, on a Louisiana Plantation, a Cajun farmer is shotguned dead, presumably by an ancient Negro. The proprietress, a young white woman, immediately takes charge and assumes responsibility. She gathers at the scene all of the old Negroes in the area with their shotguns and a spent cartridge; all of whom assume responsibility for the killing. Why? To stymie the sheriff, of course! But, also to confront an anticipated lynch mob: the victim's family. But, who really killed âCock Robin?â Here is a book that you can easily read at a single sitting. The outcome is not what you will expect.