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Their Eyes Were Watching God

Hurston, Zora Neale. Book - 2006 Adult Book / Fiction / Classic / Hurston, Zora Neale, Fiction / Hurston, Zora 1 On Shelf No requests on this item Community Rating: 4.3 out of 5

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Call Number: Adult Book / Fiction / Classic / Hurston, Zora Neale, Fiction / Hurston, Zora
On Shelf At: Pittsfield Branch

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"Copyright 1937 by Zora Neale Hurston. Renewed 1965." T.p. verso.
A novel about black Americans in Florida that centers on the life of Janie and her three marriages.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

Summary / Annotation
Fiction Profile
Excerpt
Author Notes

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Unexpectedly glorious submitted by Susan4Pax -prev. sueij- on August 14, 2013, 7:48pm Really, I thought that something written in 1937 would feel tremendously dated, but the vibrant storytelling and Janie's amazing life and growth into her own sense of self drew me in in ways that I never expected. She yearned for a life of her own, and followed her dreams to find it. It wasn't easy, and it wasn't perfect, and it didn't end happily even. But oooohhhhhhhh, the journey is the point, isn't it?

I was hooked, and thought about it for days afterward.

(Additionally, I very much appreciated the Foreword and Afterword in my 2006 Harper Perennial Modern Classics edition for the way they filled in the importance of this novel in its time and place, and gave me information about the author. That really added to the experience of the novel, and I am particularly glad for them.)

Great story submitted by kferguson on August 21, 2016, 4:22pm Great story of black life in the South

Poetic and Powerful submitted by sdunav on June 17, 2017, 11:36am Relatively recently re-discovered (late 1970’s) African-American womens' classic novel, originally published in 1937. The writing was amazing – poetic and graphic and unique. The dialect did take a little time to get used to, and the story was intense but not totally depressing. It made me very glad to *not* to be a woman in the early 1900’s in the Southern US. I fell down a bit of a rabbit hole (a Google hole?) reading about Zora Neale Hurston, who was a fascinating author and anthropologist.

Powerful! submitted by evie2017 on August 25, 2017, 6:47pm I ended up having to read this book for a school assignment and went into it with a bit of a "I don't want to read this!" mentality. However the story was incredibly powerful and moving. I'm so glad I read this!

One of the greatest American novels--of any era submitted by John Staunton on August 1, 2018, 10:06pm Unforgettable and engrossing. The narrative seems like it will be tough at first if it's outside your own vernacular. But the novel trains you to hear its voice. It's always on the independent reading list for my students, and I've never had a student not rank it as one of their favorites.

A Great Story submitted by majean on August 17, 2018, 12:09pm I had to read this for school probably 20 years ago, but I really enjoyed it and think of certain aspects often.

Beautiful Prose submitted by mfwebb2891 on June 12, 2021, 10:01pm Beautifully written by an amazing anthropologist and folklorist.

Incredible Story with a Female Protagonist submitted by KatieD on August 21, 2021, 1:49pm I read this book a couple of years ago and just thought it was beautifully written. Highly recommend.

A classic. submitted by redwood on July 15, 2023, 12:50pm Janie is an unforgettable protagonist, and we follow her through several relationships that take her to various modes of rural Southern Black life. The frame narrative has Janie recounting her life story to her best friend, Pheoby. One husband is a farmer who mainly wants her physical labor. She leaves him, moving to Eatonville, the all-Black town where Hurston grew up, with Jody Starks, who becomes the mayor and abuses her as he tries to mold her into the perfect “mayor’s wife.” It is impossible to entirely crush Janie, though, and when Starks dies, she moves on to the Everglades with the younger Tea Cake, the only man who truly loves her—though that, too, has a tragic ending.

My favorite part of this novel will always be the environmental imagery. From a “blossoming pear tree” stirring Janie as a young girl to the major hurricane that hits towards the end of the book, Hurston’s approach to language and environmental affect is beautiful. She was trained as an anthropologist and devoted much of her career to autoethnographies of rural Southern Black life, and in this novel, she switches constantly between poetic Standard English and vernacular dialogue. This novel doesn’t let oppression preclude joy, and has become a classic for how much it holds side by side

Good to Read submitted by vtabor on July 26, 2023, 3:47pm I am glad that I read this for the Tournament of Tomes. I wouldn't have picked it up otherwise, and it is a great classic novel that gives a firsthand perspective of Black life in the South. Once you get the hang of the dialogue, it's a fairly fast read but still impactful.

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PUBLISHED
New York : Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2006.
Year Published: 2006
Description: 240 p.
Language: English
Format: Book

READING LEVEL
Lexile: 1080

ISBN/STANDARD NUMBER
9780060838676

SUBJECTS
African American women -- Fiction.
Self-realization -- Fiction.
Florida -- Fiction.
Psychological fiction.