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Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'
Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick: Stories from the Harlem Renaissance by Zora Neale Hurston
8 reviews
micalyia's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I know if I had read this when I was younger I would have ate it up, looking for themes and literary devices.
Some of the short stories stood out to me more than others, many of them are alive of life stories about black people’s experiences during the Harlem renaissance and are set in eatonville, Florida or Harlem, New York. Many of the stories also explore marriages. While some of the actions and topics might have people raising their eyebrows they are very much applicable for the time in which the stories are set.
Some of the short stories stood out to me more than others, many of them are alive of life stories about black people’s experiences during the Harlem renaissance and are set in eatonville, Florida or Harlem, New York. Many of the stories also explore marriages. While some of the actions and topics might have people raising their eyebrows they are very much applicable for the time in which the stories are set.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, and Domestic abuse
katyyyowens's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Classism, Murder, Physical abuse, Slavery, Violence, Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Sexual assault, and Racism
While the content is heavy, this book is brilliant and revolutionary.readandfindout's review
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
John Redding Goes to Sea: 4 stars
The Conversion of Sam: 3.5 stars
A Bit of Our Harlem: 3 stars
Drenched in Light: 3 stars
Spunk: 3 stars
Magnolia Flower: 4.5 stars
Black Death: 4 stars
The Bone of Contention: 3.5 stars
Muttsy: 3.5 stars
Sweat: 4 stars
Under the Bridge: 4 stars
‘Possum or Pig?: 2 stars
The Eatonville Anthology: 4 stars
Book of Harlem: 4.5 stars
The Book of Harlem: 3.5 stars
The Back Room: 4 stars
Monkey Junk: 4 stars
The Country in the Woman: 3.5 stars
The Gilded Six-Bits: 4 stars
She Rock: 3.5 stars
The Fire and the Cloud: 2 stars
The Conversion of Sam: 3.5 stars
A Bit of Our Harlem: 3 stars
Drenched in Light: 3 stars
Spunk: 3 stars
Magnolia Flower: 4.5 stars
Black Death: 4 stars
The Bone of Contention: 3.5 stars
Muttsy: 3.5 stars
Sweat: 4 stars
Under the Bridge: 4 stars
‘Possum or Pig?: 2 stars
The Eatonville Anthology: 4 stars
Book of Harlem: 4.5 stars
The Book of Harlem: 3.5 stars
The Back Room: 4 stars
Monkey Junk: 4 stars
The Country in the Woman: 3.5 stars
The Gilded Six-Bits: 4 stars
She Rock: 3.5 stars
The Fire and the Cloud: 2 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Violence, Infidelity, and Racism
sup3r_xn0va_maya's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
This is a collection of short stories by Zora Neale Hurston, this book includes 8 stories that have never been published before now. Some of the stories were sad, some were humorous, and some were a little bit confusing.
There was often mention of the female characters taking abuse from male characters, Hurston had commentary on that and more often than not the aggressor ended up harmed or slighted instead. I appreciated her commentary on it, domestic abuse is a problem now and it was basically rampant back then.
There were some stories that I didn't like very much, mostly because I didn't understand them. I do plan to listen to this audiobook again, probably some time next year (2024).
This was my first time reading Hurston and it won't be my last.
I'll be giving this collection of stories a 4 out of 5 stars.
There was often mention of the female characters taking abuse from male characters, Hurston had commentary on that and more often than not the aggressor ended up harmed or slighted instead. I appreciated her commentary on it, domestic abuse is a problem now and it was basically rampant back then.
There were some stories that I didn't like very much, mostly because I didn't understand them. I do plan to listen to this audiobook again, probably some time next year (2024).
This was my first time reading Hurston and it won't be my last.
I'll be giving this collection of stories a 4 out of 5 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Physical abuse, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Sexism, Alcohol, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, and Racial slurs
arachan's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
There is no enough of ZNH's work, which isn't an original thought but is still a true one.
This book is a collection of her short stories which required a lot of literary investigative work to source and I'm just super grateful that they were saved. Hurston writes like she's telling the stories at a bar or a dinner table and does a wonderful job. Each story felt like it was about real people and there's a solidly gossipy vibe that makes each of the stories roll by. Highly recommend.
This book is a collection of her short stories which required a lot of literary investigative work to source and I'm just super grateful that they were saved. Hurston writes like she's telling the stories at a bar or a dinner table and does a wonderful job. Each story felt like it was about real people and there's a solidly gossipy vibe that makes each of the stories roll by. Highly recommend.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Sexism
ceallaighsbooks's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
“Sometimes in his dreams he was a prince, riding away in a gorgeous carriage. Often he was a knight bestride a fiery charger prancing down the white shellroad that led to distant lands. At other times he was a steamboat Captain piloting his craft down the St. John River to where the sky seemed to touch the water. No matter what he dreamed or whom he fancied himself to be, he always ended by riding away to the horizon, for in his childish ignorance he thought this to be the farthest land.” — from “John Redding Goes to Sea”
TITLE—Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick
AUTHOR—Zora Neale Hurston
PUBLISHED—1920-1935; 2019
GENRE—short stories
SETTING—early 20th c. America
MAIN THEMES/SUBJECTS—folktales & retellings/reimaginings, language & idiom, Black American history & culture, literary writing, subversion of sociocultural expectations and stereotypes
WRITING STYLE—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
CHARACTERS—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
STORY/PLOT—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
BONUS ELEMENT/S—Genevieve West, in the Introduction, quoting Julius Lester: “…folklore is like water… A folktale assumes the shape of its teller.”
PHILOSOPHY—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“The brook laughed and sang. When it encountered hard places in its bed, it hurled its water in sparkling dance figures up into the moonlight. It sang louder, louder; danced faster, faster, with a coquettish splash! at the vegetation on its banks. At last it danced boisterously into the bosom of the St. John’s upsetting the whispering hyacinths who shivered and blushed, drunk with the delight of moon kisses.” — from “Magnolia Flower”
There is obviously a lot of scholarship and literary criticism out there about Hurston’s works, as is going to be the case with any author of classic literature, and there are endless elements to discuss in her works from her depiction of Black history and culture in the South and in the various Northern cities that saw a great deal of Black migration in the early 20th c. to her use of language and idiomatic speech—and tons of other things her works are so multifaceted and have so much depth—BUT what I particularly love about her works are the strong folkloric elements.
There’s such a strong feeling of otherworldliness and spirituality in her writing while still featuring characters that seem to brush almost eerily close to capturing the complex reality of human nature to the point where you wonder if these stories aren’t more Truth than Fiction. But I also love the diversity of subject and style too with none of the stories feeling repetitive but all having that distinct Hurston feel fleshed out in a different direction or merely explored in a new light.
My favorite story from this collection was “John Redding Goes to Sea” but I also loved “Drenched in Light”, “Magnolia Flower” (a beautiful folktale / fable story), “Sweat” (felt a little gothic), “The Back Room” (very atmospheric, a little Fitzgerald-y), “She Rock” (mock-biblical style), and “The Fire and the Cloud” (an incredible retelling of Moses’s last days). I have so many more Hurston books left to read too I’m SO excited. 🥰 I think Tell My Horse and Dust Tracks on a Road will be next.
“Oh, yes, I’m a dreamer. I have such wonderfully complete dreams, Papa. They never come true. But even as my dreams fade, I have others.” — from “John Redding Goes to Sea”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
TW // domestic violence, animal death (Please feel free to DM me for more specifics!)
Further Reading—
- everything else by Zora Neale Hurston
- Ring Shout, by P. Djèlí Clark
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Violence, and Animal death
kbusemeyer's review
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Since this was a collection if short stories, it was not one consistent plot all the way through. It was interesting because there were several of the sane story told with slight differences or characters and locations from on story appear in another.
The intro mentions how you can see her craft developing through this as characters you see earlier come back more fleshed out.
Overall fun to read and pretty easy to get through one or two before bed. Some of the formatting was harder to read and definitely because Hurston emphasizes the dialect of black people, it made me slow down and really take in what’s being said.
I enjoyed the intro at the beginning as a sneak preview of what was to come and explanations of stories in layman’s terms.
The intro mentions how you can see her craft developing through this as characters you see earlier come back more fleshed out.
Overall fun to read and pretty easy to get through one or two before bed. Some of the formatting was harder to read and definitely because Hurston emphasizes the dialect of black people, it made me slow down and really take in what’s being said.
I enjoyed the intro at the beginning as a sneak preview of what was to come and explanations of stories in layman’s terms.
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse
honeyvoiced's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder and Domestic abuse
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