Hooray! You have added the first book to your bookshelf. Check it out now!
[−]
  • Search Digit-count Valid ISBN Invalid ISBN Valid Barcode Invalid Barcode
Blog this item

Their Eyes Were Watching God

By Zora Neale Hurston

(58)

| Others | 9780812485202

Like Their Eyes Were Watching God?
Join aNobii to see if your friends read it, and discover similar books!

Sign up for free

Book Description

Their Eyes Were Watching God, an American classic, is a luminous and haunting novel about Janie Crawford, a Southern black woman in the 1930s whose journey from a free-spirited girl to a woman of independence and substance has inspired writers and readers for close to seventy years.

Continue

Their Eyes Were Watching God, an American classic, is a luminous and haunting novel about Janie Crawford, a Southern black woman in the 1930s whose journey from a free-spirited girl to a woman of independence and substance has inspired writers and readers for close to seventy years.

This poetic, graceful love story, rooted in black folk traditions and steeped in mythic realism, celebrates, boldly and brilliantly, African-American culture and heritage. And in a powerful, mesmerizing narrative, it pays quiet tribute to a black woman, who, though constricted by the times, still demanded to be heard.

Originally published in 1937, Their Eyes Were Watching God met significant commercial but divided critical acclaim. Somewhat forgotten after her death, Zora Neale Hurston was rediscovered by a number of black authors in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and reintroduced to a greater readership by Alice Walker in her 1972 essay "In Search of Zora Neale Hurston," written for Ms. magazine. Long out of print, the book was reissued after a petition was circulated at the Modern Language Association Convention in 1975, and nearly three decades later Their Eyes Were Watching God is considered a seminal novel of American fiction.

With a new foreword by the celebrated novelist Edwidge Danticat -- author of Eyes, Breath, Memory; The Farming of Bones; and Krik?Krak! -- this edition of Their Eyes Were Watching God commemorates the singular, inimitable voice in America's literary canon and highlights its unusual publication history.

7 Reviews

Login or Sign Up to write a review

  • 3 people find this helpful

    Reading Their Eyes Were Watching God

    In the past year or two, I've become quite interested in the literature of the Harlem Renaissance (for more information on this era/movement, read the excellent young adult book Stomp! A Cultural History of the Harlem Renaissance by Laban Carrick Hill). This era, which saw a blossoming of art, liter ... (continue)

    In the past year or two, I've become quite interested in the literature of the Harlem Renaissance (for more information on this era/movement, read the excellent young adult book Stomp! A Cultural History of the Harlem Renaissance by Laban Carrick Hill). This era, which saw a blossoming of art, literature, music and culture in the African-American community, took place right after World War I and was centered in New York City. Famous writers of the time include Nella Larsen, Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Walter White, Richard Wright and Zora Neale Hurston, whose novel Their Eyes Were Watching God is the subject of this entry.

    This heartbreakingly poignant novel centers on the growth of its female protagonist, Janie, as we see her move from a childhood amongst a white family (she is stunned when she sees a picture of herself with the group, realizing that she is black) to her arranged marriage to a man whom her grandmother selected for her. She then runs away with a snazzy, smart man who becomes mayor of the town where they choose to take up residence. In neither of these cases does she find the love that she so desperately desires. It is a younger man who goes by the dubious moniker of Tea Cake who finally makes her heart soar, though their together is turbulent and the reader is constantly left wondering if he is the man she believes him to be.

    The style of the book is fairly ingenious, moving back and forth from eloquent descriptive prose to more down-to-earth dialogue. The reader grows with Janie; she is an entirely sympathetic character in a book that is a joy to read.

    Is this helpful?

    moogle said on Mar 28, 2007 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • 1 person find this helpful

    Short review for a huge novel

    I really appreciated the fact this is neither a black or a female coming-of-age novel, but a universal Bildungsroman. Hurston's mastery in the use of symbols and language(s) makes this work a masterpiece.

    Is this helpful?

    Jadran said on Aug 19, 2008 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • Ah sho sugges' it

    Given the fact that I'm not an english mother tongue, at the beginning it was a bit tiring to read the dialogues, but engaging as well. Besides the love story, I appreciated Hurston's clear-headed portrait of the afro-american culture and of the afro-american women in the '30s; I will surely try to ... (continue)

    Given the fact that I'm not an english mother tongue, at the beginning it was a bit tiring to read the dialogues, but engaging as well. Besides the love story, I appreciated Hurston's clear-headed portrait of the afro-american culture and of the afro-american women in the '30s; I will surely try to find out more about the Harlem Renaissance.

    Is this helpful?

    Timi said on Jul 31, 2011 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • Their Eyes Were Watching God

    A beautifully written, powerful novel. I've heard some people have been put off by the dialect, but for me, that really brought the characters to life.

    Is this helpful?

    Readingrat said on Nov 27, 2007 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

Book Details

Improve data of this book

Prices Change currency & sellers

ISBN Edition List Sale Seller
9780812485202 Others -- -- --
Other editions →
+ 1 copy tradable: →
Added to Shelf Added to Wish List

Inline Translation Mode

Left click to navigate, right click to translate.

inline translation guide

or close

Inline translation is not ready for this page yet.

Inline translation mode.

Share this page with your friends.

The viewport has not loaded.