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blueberryhotel's review
challenging
funny
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
i remember reading their eyes were watching god back in high school and loving it SO much. hurston’s voice is distinctive and infectious and i really enjoyed learning more about her and reading her other works, especially her nonfiction. what a fascinating woman
goldxnapplxs's review
adventurous
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
melanie_reads's review
5.0
Sometimes the real deal just needs to be read. Wish she were more well known.
jeninmotion's review against another edition
4.0
Four stars because of the slog that is Dust Tracks on a Road. Otherwise...I could read her folklore forever, it's amazing writing and the subject matter is *still* understudied.
beverleefernandez's review against another edition
4.0
It's hard to believe I started reading I Love Myself When I Am Laughing back in January. That seems like a lifetime or two ago. I think this book is symbolic of the year for me. 2020 has been a year where I have seen some success and felt some crushing blows, yet at the end there was a feeling of familiarity mixed with newness. I've always loved Hurston's work, especially Their Eyes Were Watching God. I call reading I Love Myself When I Am Laughing familiar and new at the same time because some of the material isn't new to me, but having additional works by Hurston and more information on her life made it new, in many ways I feel enlightened as I have a clearer understanding of how the system of patronage worked during the Harlem Renaissance and how different artists viewed what's acceptable and what's not. I don't like to think there's only one way of expression that's acceptable because there's value in creativity. I don't have to like it, I may even be critical of the message, but at the end of the day it is clear that that the many works of art are all an expression of humanity. Hurston's voice is an important contribution that helped shaped the fiction that's familiar to me and countless readers today. More importantly, Hurston's work is a legacy that celebrates being Black, being free, being yourself regardless of receiving applause or hearing crickets chirp.
4 stars because-the folklore and reportage section just didn't work well for me. It took several tries for me to get past this section. It's not bad, just not my preference (Tell My Horse in particular).
Reading this wanted me to learn more about Zora the person. One day I hope to read Dust Tracks on a Road and a biography written by Valerie Boyd (on my too long TBR list).
What made me see Hurston in a new way:
Religion is deeply embedded in Hurston's work, but I tended not to think of it as such. I think spiritual is a better fit. Religion is a belief system that believers tend not to compromise. It's a way of life, in some circles a measure of judgment-"the one who makes the idols never worships them, however tenderly he might have molded the clay. You cannot have knowledge and worship at the same time. Mystery is the essence of divinity. Gods must keep their distances from men" (47).
The essays are very telling of Hurston's experiences as a Black woman writer. I think her personality as being somewhat contrary to the uplift movement that dominated the early half of the twentieth century casts a shadow on her feelings. Yes she was an outspoken, independent figure that reveled in being true to herself. I think that is a mark of intelligence. Often quoted "but I am not tragically colored. There is no great sorrow dammed up in my soul nor lurking behind my eyes. I do not mind at all. I do not belong to the sobbing school of Negrohood who hold that nature has somehow given them a lowdown dirty deal and whose feelings are all hurt about it. Even in the helter-skelter skirmish that is my life, I have seen that the world is to the strong regardless of a little pigmentation more or less. No, I do not weep at the world-I am too busy sharpening my oyster knife" (153).
The "Pet" Negro System needs to read in its entirety.
The fiction section is by far my favorite. This was my first read of The Gilded Six Bits and Moses, Man of the Mountain. My last read of Their Eyes Were Watching God was last year (I think). I've always been so focused on Janie's growth, I didn't realize the depictions of Black women and men could be seen as less than flattering if one is fixated on presenting a version of people without blemishes. What I aim to do when I reread Their Eyes Were Watching God is consider how this work is a reflection of life (like it or not) and how things have changed or not. "There are years that ask questions and years that answer. Janie had had no chance to know things, so she had to ask. Did marriage end the cosmic loneliness of the unmated? Did marriage compel love like the sun the day?" (246) My answer to this is no...but I understand why Janie would ask, which means Hurston is a gifted writer.
4 stars because-the folklore and reportage section just didn't work well for me. It took several tries for me to get past this section. It's not bad, just not my preference (Tell My Horse in particular).
Reading this wanted me to learn more about Zora the person. One day I hope to read Dust Tracks on a Road and a biography written by Valerie Boyd (on my too long TBR list).
What made me see Hurston in a new way:
Religion is deeply embedded in Hurston's work, but I tended not to think of it as such. I think spiritual is a better fit. Religion is a belief system that believers tend not to compromise. It's a way of life, in some circles a measure of judgment-"the one who makes the idols never worships them, however tenderly he might have molded the clay. You cannot have knowledge and worship at the same time. Mystery is the essence of divinity. Gods must keep their distances from men" (47).
The essays are very telling of Hurston's experiences as a Black woman writer. I think her personality as being somewhat contrary to the uplift movement that dominated the early half of the twentieth century casts a shadow on her feelings. Yes she was an outspoken, independent figure that reveled in being true to herself. I think that is a mark of intelligence. Often quoted "but I am not tragically colored. There is no great sorrow dammed up in my soul nor lurking behind my eyes. I do not mind at all. I do not belong to the sobbing school of Negrohood who hold that nature has somehow given them a lowdown dirty deal and whose feelings are all hurt about it. Even in the helter-skelter skirmish that is my life, I have seen that the world is to the strong regardless of a little pigmentation more or less. No, I do not weep at the world-I am too busy sharpening my oyster knife" (153).
The "Pet" Negro System needs to read in its entirety.
The fiction section is by far my favorite. This was my first read of The Gilded Six Bits and Moses, Man of the Mountain. My last read of Their Eyes Were Watching God was last year (I think). I've always been so focused on Janie's growth, I didn't realize the depictions of Black women and men could be seen as less than flattering if one is fixated on presenting a version of people without blemishes. What I aim to do when I reread Their Eyes Were Watching God is consider how this work is a reflection of life (like it or not) and how things have changed or not. "There are years that ask questions and years that answer. Janie had had no chance to know things, so she had to ask. Did marriage end the cosmic loneliness of the unmated? Did marriage compel love like the sun the day?" (246) My answer to this is no...but I understand why Janie would ask, which means Hurston is a gifted writer.
jdallas's review
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
I remember this book challenging me intellectually and leading to many long, reflective facebook posts. Something I would definitely read again because I'm sure I missed valuable insights the first time.
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