A Gathering of Old Men | Plot Summary

A Gathering of Old Men Overview

A Gathering of Old Men is a novel with a large historical sweep. Like the aged main character of The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, the twenty old men in A Gathering of Old Men, who are in their seventies and eighties, carry history in their first-person memories.

The men gather to provide protection to a man they all admire, Mathu, by each claiming to have murdered a Cajun they suspect was killed by Mathu.

Mathu in turn is shielding another man, Big Charlie, who finally admits the murder, earning the respect of Mathu and the others. All are afraid not only of the justice system, but of the Cajun backlash of the murder victim's extended family.

Law and society both evolve in this novel, as blacks, whites, and Cajuns cheer the first black and white running backs at Louisiana State University, and these...
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