Ernest J. Gaines' final novella uncovers a haunting tale of race and power, told with empathy and understanding, making this a powerful read.

I don’t know how I feel about this book. It was too short and nothing really happened until the end. Brady’s behavior didn’t shock me. I knew what he’d do and why. Maybe, I've read too many books like this.

Published by Vintage on August 29, 2017

Brady Sims is an old man. He starts the novel by shooting a prisoner in a courtroom after the prisoner is sentenced to death. The prisoner happens to be his son. Brady tells the deputies to tell the sheriff to give him two hours before the sheriff comes for him.

Cub reporter Louis Guerin, the only black journalist on the newspaper’s newly-integrated staff, happens to be in the courtroom when the shooting occurs. Assigned to write a “human interest story” about Brady, he goes to the African-American barbershop to gather the local gossip. The rambling barbershop story he hears about Brady Sims and his son is the heart of the book. Delivered in a priceless Louisiana dialect, the barbershop tale creates an intimate sense of place and time.

Two short sections round out the novel. One is told from the perspective of a white sheriff who has lost friends because he refuses to echo their racist attitudes, and because he has befriended Brady. It falls to the sheriff to address Brady’s actions. The last section returns to the barbershop and the cub reporter’s human interest story.

The Tragedy of Brady Sims is a story about the art of storytelling. One of the men listening to the barbershop story gets in the doghouse with his woman for staying to listen instead of going home, because they “start telling you a story and they know you won’t leave ‘til you heard the end.” The end is a long time coming, because a good storyteller weaves together a bunch of other stories and doesn’t bother to filter details just because they have nothing to do with the story being told. And occasionally others with relevant knowledge (or not) chime in, making the story even longer.

This is a short novel, and it’s all the more absorbing because of its brevity. The novel has important points to make about the racial divide and the bridges that cross the divide, but the focus on the barbershop as a place where truths are told — entertaining and gossipy truths, but truths nonetheless — makes an even stronger point about the importance of community and oral history.

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Powerful novella about race where a proud African American man kills his son in a courtroom and asks for two hours before he gets arrested. The book follows a reporter who goes to the local barbershop to learn more about Brady Sims.

Why did Brady Sims open fire and kill his son in a rural Louisiana court house? This is the premise of Ernest Gaines’ latest novella.

Ernest J. Gaines is a great storyteller! Reading Gaines’ offers a peek into the life of southern Black folk. In The Tragedy of Brady Sims the dialogue almost becomes a separate character. Most of the story consists of a barber shop full of men telling tales of Brady Sims’ past. The conversations taking place at the barber shop are expertly crafted and executed. The reader will hang on every word of Gaines’ masterful dialogue. As always, Gaines takes the scenic route in examining and explaining situations. This only adds to the richness of the story.

The Tragedy of Brady Sims was a great read, I just wish it were a full length novel. The ending left me wanting more.

The size and form of this story, a novella, did not give it the power I found in A Lesson Before Dying or the festering anger of A Gathering of Old Men. Instead it seems more a story of lingering anguish, glimpsing possibilities but never reaching the goals, i.e. good jobs, a decent house, safety for your children without sending them to live across country, the right to be in a room with people of another color. Sheriff Mapes proves to be a more developed individual than I had considered...and I did know he ran against the white power curve in some ways. All in all, an interesting read from Mr. Gaines. I can't imagine any other kind. I will continue to read his books and recommend them to others.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Expertly delivered, Gaines's novella evokes place and politics with graphic clarity and vernacular charm. There's a tragi- comic quality to its barbershop chorus narration, but the raw story it's founded on chimes clearly. Not a huge book, but telling still in its experience and picture of deep social grooves.

The Tragedy of Brady Sims by Ernest J. Gaines

Tell me a story, Ernest J. Gaines. One with less than 200 pages. One in which I’m reminded of my childhood summer vacations in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where we would sit on the garry in the evening and eavesdrop on stories shared by our neighbors on their stoops. One in which the barber shop is a holy place that carries on the tradition of news sharing and gossip whispering. A story of poor Southern black men who live in a small Louisiana town, remembering the history of slavery, fighting the racism of their generation, using women and booze and food to draw on small comforts in life. And don’t forget, Mr. Gaines, to introduce a character—a strong black man—who is the sheriff of his family and of his neighborhood without wearing an official badge. One who is a straight shooter and knows the consequences of the black man’s burden in a country that devalues his very existence. Allow him ostentatious self-assurance, staunch persistence, and no nonsense, smooth-talking savvy. Throw in some courtroom drama, side-grabbing humor, a Greek-chorus-like echo of a man who “Amens” the narration of the drama, and a taste of the spicy language of black Louisianans, and I guarantee you will have a winner!
Thanks to Ernest J. Gaines, NetGalley, and the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for yet another one of your classics to add to my collection.

Y’all. Ernest J. Gaines is back with his first book in over ten years. For those who think his name sounds familiar, he is the genius behind A Lesson Before Dying, A Gathering of Old Men, and The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. In other words, he is one of the very best around.

Since I read my first book by him in high school, then another in college, and then taught one of his books to my students, I have always held a deep appreciation for his style, his characters, his settings, his use of dialect, his words, and his themes. And, his newest novella, The Tragedy of Brady Sims, is no different.

Well, except for the fact that it is a novella instead of a book. But, this will make all the people (especially the students) rejoice! In a little more than one hundred pages, readers will be transported to a black barber shop in Louisiana where they will learn all about the life of Brady Sims.

You see, this is the genius of Gaines. He is able to tell a whole story within a few pages mainly in one setting – a barber shop. His use of characterization, but most importantly, the way he brings the character’s dialogue to life with brilliant dialect and colorful idioms, set him apart from other writers. When you read this novella, you will feel as if you are sitting in the barber shop listening to the men reminisce about the main character and their town.

Also important is the theme. Gaines has always handled race issues with honesty and grace. In this case, the story opens with a father shooting his son in the courtroom after his son was sentenced to prison in Angola (the historically brutal prison in Louisiana). After the shooting, the white sheriff then gives Brady Sims two hours before he will pick him up to take him to jail.

So, the story revolves around two things. First, why did Brady Sims shoot his son? Second, why did the cop let him leave the courthouse after the shooting and give him two hours before he picks him up?

In this story, the theme delves into race issues within society and the justice system. Who does the system help and who does it fail?

I cannot recommend reading a novel by Ernest Gaines enough, but if this is your first time entering his world, this novella is the perfect start. New fans and old fans alike will be happy with the latest from this living legacy.

Wow. This book is short yet stirring. Brady Sims made it his mission to whip the kids in the neighborhood to save them from prison. This job of his extended to his own children. After Brady's son is sentenced to prison, Brady does the unthinkable. The town is in an uproar and a reporter is sent to find out why Brady did what he did. This novel reminded me of my childhood and many of the old characters in it.

The Tragedy of Brady Sims is a perfect example of why I love Ernest Gaines' writing. Mr. Gaines wastes no time throwing his readers into a surprisingly calm yet violent situation that results from a vow made by Brady Sims. In The Tragedy of Brady Sims, Gaines exposes a tragic consequence for one family because of a belief held by many African American families that there's a need to punish their children harshly before 'they' can get a chance to claim them. The idea that children, especially male children, needed to be shown harsh boundaries and even harsher consequences no matter the motivation behind their behavior, is one that hits me squarely in the gut. Too many black children and young adults aren't allowed to freely be young and make mistakes and misjudgments without sometimes suffering devastating consequences.

One of the reasons that Gaines is a favorite author for me, is that despite the often tragic and disheartening topics his stories follow, the settings and people feel like home to me. I am able to almost see and hear the scenes unfolding. In The Tragedy of Brady Sims, I clearly see in my mind's eye the barber shop where the men gather. I can hear the pitch, timbre, and inflections in these men's voices. The dryness of responses and the side-eyed humor are all so clear. Although the majority of this story is heartbreaking, Gaines employs humor that can always be found with a gathering of old men. (I couldn't help myself.)

When it comes to laying out stories, Gaines doesn't tell his reader to look at how awful the world can be. Instead, he simply shows what has happened and trusts that his readers will see not only how disgustingly unfair the world can be, but that there are so much smoky grey fog in the world that most people get lost between what is right and what is wrong. Brady Sims is one of those men who gets lost in the fog. Needless to say The Tragedy of Brady Sims is going on my favorite reads list and I will be reading this one again and again over the years.

Anything by Gaines should be a treat for readers. The man is a national treasure. Though short, "Brady Sims" displays all the intelligence, emotional power, and complexity that mark Gaines oeuvre.

Reading a book by Ernest Gaines is like stepping back in time in my home state of Louisiana. Brady Sims ask for two hours time before the sheriff arrest him for shooting his own son. In those two hours we hear story after story about Brady Sims. Brady Sims is a hard man but also a giving man.

I will definitely be adding a physical copy of this book to my shelf.

I love the setting of this book. I only recently learned about the cultural significance of the black barbershop when picking up my son's basketball team mate from one. I was immediately pulled into an intense discussion about Donald Trump. There were about 8 men in the shop and only one was getting his hair cut. My friend told me his father and grandfather had their hair cut there, and now his son had his hair cut there. This story captures the essence of the black barber shop.

Louis Guerin is the reporter on duty at a Louisiana courthouse when Brady Sims shoots his son who was just sentenced to Angola prison. Brady points the gun at the deputies, fires at the ground, and asks them if he can have two hours before they come after him. Louis is ordered by his white boss to get a special interest story about Brady before midnight. Louis, who is black, is welcomed at the local barbershop where black men go for haircuts.

Louis learns all about life in the small town from the loquacious barber. Every time I thought the barber had gone off the rails, “the client with the new haircut” interjected that the story was taking too long, Louis indicated he should be quiet, and we as readers are urged to continue turning pages of a story told by a single narrator. And it’s a good thing we do.

We learn about life in a small town, where old grandmothers need help disciplining teenagers because parents have left town to find work. Finding a job is not easy. Racism is alive and well. We learn all about Brady Sims. We learn the sheriff, Mapes, gives Brady his two hours. But mostly we learn about the culture in black barber shops.

The novella has a couple of surprising twists at the end, though one was foreshadowed and I’m not sure we were meant to be surprised. The other would have floored the town had they known. I was delighted by this story, though it truly was a tragedy, in more ways than one.

Ce livre est sorti en français l'année dernière. Je n'arrivais pas à me résoudre à lire cette traduction. Je refuse de lire la traduction française de livres écrits à l'origine en anglais. (Et non, le travail de mes collègues ne m'intéresse pas.) Quand j'ai vu The Tragedy of Brady Sims sur Netgalley, je me suis empressée de le demander. J'ai eu la chance de le recevoir.

Brady Sims tue son fils en plein tribunal. Il dit aux deux adjoints de lui donner deux heures et qu'ensuite, le shérif Mapes pourra venir le chercher. Il quitte la ville. Louis Guerin, un jeune journaliste présent dans la salle, se voit confier un article d'intérêt général pour le soir même par le rédacteur en chef de l'hebdomadaire local. Ce dernier trouve étrange que le shérif laisse deux heures à Brady Sims et souhaite comprendre pourquoi. La patronne du café lui conseille de se rendre au coiffeur pour hommes (barbershop) pour en apprendre plus sur Brady Sims.

J'ai particulièrement aimé la scène dans le salon de barbier (comme on dit au Canada). Louis Guerin y passe habituellement beaucoup de temps pour écouter les anciens parler. Il y a deux barbiers et un cireur de chaussures, et des clients qui passent la journée dans le salon. Ils arrivent dès l'ouverture pour se faire couper les cheveux ou pour discuter. Cela m'a fait penser au salon où nous allions, ma sœur et moi. Notre coiffeuse de l'époque y louait une chaise (elle coiffait plutôt les hommes en fait) et nous avons découvert l'ambiance des barbershops pour Noirs, rencontré des gens intéressants (deux musiciens de jazz et de musique latine notamment) et apprécié en particulier les discussions des clients (ou des hommes qui passaient juste dire bonjour) sur la communauté noire locale et nationale. Notre coiffeuse s'étant reconvertie, nous n'allons plus dans le salon, mais nous revoyons de temps en temps l'un des barbiers. Même si Louis Guerin a un délai à respecter (il doit rendre son article pour minuit), il prend le temps d'écouter les clients qui ne font leurs révélations qu'à leur rythme.

Comme toujours, Ernest Gaines évoque les problèmes des Noirs aux États-Unis. Il y a par exemple une discussion entre Louis Guerin et le seul juré noir, M. A. Paul, qui raconte le test de citoyenneté (ridicule) qu'il a dû passer pour voter, qui a peur que tout ce qu'il dit soit mal interprété. Louis Guerin le taquine à ce sujet, alors que lui-même a dû partir en Californie pour finir ses études secondaires et aller à l'université, parce qu'il ne pouvait pas aller plus loin que la 4e (8th grade) en Louisiane. On constate les différences de comportement entre les anciens et les plus jeunes. Et il y a le shérif qui lui aussi paie personnellement les conséquences du racisme et de la discrimination, qui tente de faire évoluer les choses au risque de ne pas être réélu et qui souffre de devoir enfermer son ami pour de bon.

Le titre français, L'homme qui fouettait les enfants, est plus explicite que le titre anglais, mais je préfère ne pas évoquer cet aspect (qui est vraiment poignant) et laisser ceux qui n'ont pas encore lu le livre (ni les résumés sur Internet) le découvrir. Toujours à propos de la version française, j'ai vu que Boy (c'est comme ça que Brady Sims appelle son fils avant de tirer sur lui) avait été traduit par Fils. Je ne suis pas d'accord.

J'ai aimé cette histoire touchante d'un père qui tue son enfant pour lui éviter la prison. J'ai trouvé la fin un peu expédiée, mais logique. À lire absolument, surtout pour la conversation dans le barbershop et pour le personnage du shérif.

It’s rare to find a book that is not only a book that needs to be read widely and right now and is also a masterly work of fiction. I find books-of-the-times to be, usually, too preachy or too worried about conveying a message at the expense of plot and characterization. In The Tragedy of Brady Sims, by Ernest J. Gaines, I found a book that can do both.

This book will grab every readers from the first pages, when Brady Sims stands up in a courthouse and shoots his son right after the son has been sentenced. Sims then tells the men who were escorting his son back to jail to have the sheriff give him two hours before coming after him. Understandably, everyone in the courthouse is stunned. They know Brady. He casts a long shadow in this southern town, especially among the Black inhabitants. So why would he do such a thing?

That’s what our narrator, a Black reporter who lived away from the town for a while before returning. The reporter’s White boss tells him to write up a “human interest” story on Sims—presumably to help the Whites understand what the hell just happened. The reporter goes out to gather information, after telling the sheriff that he doesn’t know what’s going on or where Sims went. When we arrive at the reporter’s source of information (the local barbershop), it becomes clear that he know a lot more than he told the sheriff. The rest of the story unfolds while the men at the barbershop tell Sims’s story.

I said The Tragedy of Brady Sims was a book for right now. What I mean by that is this book is, underneath the surface story of chasing after Sims and getting his story, about how Black people are expected to police themselves in the United States. The Black Lives Matter movement has done important work raising the national (especially the White) consciousness about how often Black people are killed by police officers. Young Black children are often taught by their parents how to deal with police so that they reduce their risk of being shot and killed. In this novel, Brady Sims is the one who teaches the Black children of this town to police themselves. He’s a bogeyman who will come after kids if they put a toe out of line and then beat them until they’re too scared to do it again.

As the reporter sits in the local barbershop, the men who tell him about Sims are all very knowing. They know exactly what happened and why. None of them appear saddened or angry. They seem more resigned than anything else. Sims’ story is tragic, certainly, but not as tragic to me as an entire population who can accept the sudden, violent death of a teenager who got in trouble with the law. The Tragedy of Brady Sims says so much in an astonishingly small number of pages.

I hope this subtly instructive book gets all the attention as it deserves.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review consideration. It will be released 29 August 2017.

This book I cannot say enough about. I have read the author prior, and he never disappoints. What would make a father shoot and kill his own son in a courtroom? What would make Mr. Brady ask for 2 hours to turn himself into the sheriff and is granted that time? A young reporter is tasked with getting the answers to these questions in this amazing book. He visits the local barbershop where stories are shared that gives us insight into the history of Mr. Brady, the town and the sheriff. This is a wonderful book and I am recommending all to read it. The ending I was not expecting. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.