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  • 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.

    

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• ― moogle said on Mar 27, 2007 about the Paperback edition| Add your feedback

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  • 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.

    

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• ― Readingrat said on Nov 26, 2007 about the Paperback edition| Add your feedback

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  • *** This comment contains spoilers! ***
  • A timeless classic of the Harlem Renaissance era.

  • After reading this novel and discovering that Zora Neale Hurston was the recipient of 2 Guggenheims, the author of 4 novels, 12 short stories, 12 essays, 2 musicals, and 2 black mythologies, I could not help wondering how this literary giant disappeared from us for nearly 3 decades. To my disappoint ... Continue

    After reading this novel and discovering that Zora Neale Hurston was the recipient of 2 Guggenheims, the author of 4 novels, 12 short stories, 12 essays, 2 musicals, and 2 black mythologies, I could not help wondering how this literary giant disappeared from us for nearly 3 decades. To my disappointment I learned that her disappearance was due to her peers (mainly Richard Wright) criticizing her openly and publicly for not writing about the so-called "serious social trends" of the time.

    Read more: http://www.thegritsbookclub.com/Reviews/TheirEy...

    

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• ― thegrits said on Oct 14, 2007 about the Paperback edition| Add your feedback

“Hurston's prose is newly invigorated by Dee's reading . . . this tape succeeds in its rich descriptions and freshness of dialogue, delivering in terms that are alternately funny and moving.”'Publishers WeeklyIn this rediscovered classic, first published in 1937, you will meet the unforgettable Janie Crawford. Fair and long-legged, independent and articulate, Janie sets out to be her own person . . . no mean feat for a woman in the 30's, and a black woman at that. Zora Neale Hurston's most highly acclaimed novel traces Janie's quest for identity, through three marriages, on a journey back to her roots. Here is one black woman whose life is not defined by regret, fear, or foolish romantic dreams. As Janie says, “two things everybody's got tuh do fuh theyselves. They got tuh go tuh God, and they got tuh find out about livin' fuh theyselves.”

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