Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zore Neale Hurston
(Format used for this read: Audiobook)
This is embarassing to admit…but I can not remember for the life of me if I have read this book before.
I do not know how in the WORLD I would forget if I had because it is a gorgeous piece of literature…but I truly can NOT remember!
The first half of the book seemed SO FAMILIAR to me and I could not put my finger on why…I thought by the time I reached the end I would figure it out.
This novel is considered one of the classics of the Harlem Renaissance period and is on a bagillion lists composed of important works of modern literature…
So maybe I read it in high school? Or college? Or maybe I watched the made for TV movie Oprah produced in 2005?
Anyway….I still have no idea if this was my first time reading this book or not…but I am sure it will not be my last.
It was a tremendous and just downright BEAUTIFUL novel that deserves all the accolades AND MORE that it has received over the past 80+ years .
Here is an official summary:
“One of the most important works of twentieth-century American literature, Zora Neale Hurston’s beloved 1937 classic, Their Eyes Were Watching God, is an enduring Southern love story sparkling with wit, beauty, and heartfelt wisdom. Told in the captivating voice of a woman who refuses to live in sorrow, bitterness, fear, or foolish romantic dreams, it is the story of fair-skinned, fiercely independent Janie Crawford, and her evolving selfhood through three marriages and a life marked by poverty, trials, and purpose. A true literary wonder, Hurston’s masterwork remains as relevant and affecting today as when it was first published—perhaps the most widely read and highly regarded novel in the entire canon of African American literature.”
This book is a story about a woman named Janie’s journey with romantic love and personal longings…and it is also a story about her journey to self discovery, finding her voice, and embracing her independence.
Janie does not want to succumb to society’s expectations of her…she does not want to be told where she should or should not be, what she should or should not say, who she should and should not marry.
The book describes her journey thru marriage over the years…time and circumstance brings her three husbands at different times in her life…only one of which was a man she feels she chose for herself and for her heart.
Janie is a woman who knows who she is, what she wants and is constantly struggling to get others to acknowledge and honor these things.
This book is a love story in and of itself ….and yet also so much about female identity ,empowerment and also struggle under male dominance.
Listen to the opening lines of the book:
“Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board.
That is the life of men.
Now, women forget all those things they don’t want to remember, and remember everything they don’t want to forget…”
(I mean…AMEN TO THAT, right?!?)
The author uses African American dialect most of the time in this book which I think honors the heritage and history of the culture and also stays true to characters reality of time and place.
(Speaking of, Ruby Dee is the narrator of this audiobook and I CAN NOT EXPRESS HOW FLIPPIN FABULOUS SHE IS, yall.
She is SO SO SO talented and expressive in her vocal character acting that you sometimes forget there is just one person reading all the various parts!
And to hear Mrs. Hurston’s gorgeous words in Mrs. Dee’s unique tone of voice is like the PERFECT fit for your ears and brain….seriously. SO. GOOD.)
Racial injustices are also discussed in this book, but they are not the main theme of the story. In my opinion the main theme of this novel is love—both romantic love and self love.
But this IS a story about a black woman, her family, her life and her community. You can not separate her race from being a part of who she is and you can not seperate the effects of racial injustice in all aspects of her own life and her community.
It is always present…sometimes blatant and sometimes underlying…sometimes direct and sometimes just lurking beneath the surface…in every place…at every moment.
These injustices and struggles are discussed in many places in the book—Janie’s grandmother, Nanny, explaining life during and after slavery and the white supremacy narrative that composes the societal hierarchies, the building of the all black town of Eatonville and the purpose behind it (which actually was inspired by the real life town the author grew up in), the treatment of Janie by another women because she is “lighter skinned”, the way a court proceeds during a trial at the end of the book….just to name a few.
When this book was originally published in 1937 there was quite a bit of criticism. One reason was due to the main character being an independent, strong black female. The book gained popularity again in the 1970s during the feminist movement and famous authors like Maya Angelous cite her as a HUGE influence on their own writing.
While there was plenty of serious issues and elements of the plot and in the character development, the author also puts in plenty of humor along the way as well.
The dialogue she has between the men who hang out on the porch of Janie & Jody’s general store has plenty of good natured ribbing and comedy. (and again…hearing Ruby Dee voice the characters is a straight up DELIGHT, yall)
I really enjoyed this book and I am going to see if I can find the 2005 movie to watch…I would love to see this book “come to life” out of my brain and on the screen.
Definitely recommend this book…even if you read it a long time ago (Or can’t remember if you did like me LOL) do it again…
You will still thoroughly enjoy it.