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A review by anya_marquardt
The Tragedy of Brady Sims by Ernest J. Gaines
4.0
I definitely found The Tragedy of Brady Sims to be one of the more unique books I’ve read, and I’m seeing that this has been a recurring theme with the novels we have been reading in this course. The book was unique to me in multiple ways, but I found the main reason to be how more than half of the novel was told in complete flashbacks explaining Brady Sims’ life. I also liked how the point of view of most of the novel was on Luis Guerin, the journalist. As a journalism minor and someone who has had to write “human interest” stories like this, I really enjoyed getting to read a novel from that point of view.
I think that this book can definitely be taught in the classroom. It has inherent themes of racism, and I think Sims’ role as an “enforcer” on many of the boys in the town will be very eye opening to students. I also think that multiple points of view can teach students a lot from the technical aspect of novels, as each point of view in the novel brings something different to the table, from Guerin’s journey to write the human interest article to Mapes’ disdain at having to arrest a friend of his. Overall, I think this is a novel that could give important and unique insights to students, from both a social aspect and a technical aspect.
I think that this book can definitely be taught in the classroom. It has inherent themes of racism, and I think Sims’ role as an “enforcer” on many of the boys in the town will be very eye opening to students. I also think that multiple points of view can teach students a lot from the technical aspect of novels, as each point of view in the novel brings something different to the table, from Guerin’s journey to write the human interest article to Mapes’ disdain at having to arrest a friend of his. Overall, I think this is a novel that could give important and unique insights to students, from both a social aspect and a technical aspect.