Their Eyes Were Watching God

⭐⭐
Not a book for me and not one I would recommend. It didn't hold my interest, and probably felt more of a chore to get through. Not completely terrible, but I didn't have a good experience. This book was an enjoyable read, but there are several things I wish were done differently.

Gorgeous.

Girl married 3 different men.

I'm on team Logan personally.

I think it was cool and had interesting history but I didn't particularly feel this book was made for me.

When I was forced to read this book in a college literature class focusing on heroes in literature, I was super disappointed. Then, when I actually started reading this book, I fell in love with the writing, the characters, and the tragic story of a woman simply looking for happiness but stuck in a lifetime of sorrow. Yet, through it all, the short-lived happiness and true love that she experienced was so perfect, she was able to keep on living. This isn't the most exciting book, but it is an inspiring work of art that will delight many if they take the time to read it.

Take a journey with Janie, a defiant and curious protagonist through her life.
Some of the dialect can be difficult to read and is easier to read some passages out loud.


Reflecting back on this book there are scene I still think about today. anb 9/16/2020

I absolutely loved this book. I read this for my AP Literature class and had such an enjoyable time whilst analyzing the bildungsroman present in the novel. The imagery is beautiful, especially in the exposition. Although the slang was hard for me to sort through, I found a wonderful audiobook online and after a few chapters with the audiobook, I was able to mentally read the rest. Great book for literary analysis!

I recently reread this book, in February 2011 and wrote a new review. It's a lengthy review, but I learned a lot on the second reading, hence the length. I posted that review on my blog, so here's the link: http://left-handedright-brained.blogspot.com/2011/03/review-of-their-eyes-were-watching-god.html.

***I decided to remove the original review I posted for this book due to the new review I wrote in February 2011. The original review I posted for this book is no longer how I feel about the book and therefore wanted to move forward with the 2011 review. If you decide to visit my blog to read my review, thank you for reading it, I know it's long. I appreciate the time you've given to read my review.

Thank you, Tara Nelson
(December 2014)

This novel resembled a museum exhibit. It was something whose pages I entered, experienced, thought about after I left, and now, it is somewhere I've visited. A series of words intended to be felt and studied. It left no particularly profound effect on me, and yet I can sense something within me has been irrevocably changed. The nature of this text has always been polarising, and it's interesting to feel exactly that. It is not mine to have an opinion on.

Honestly 3.5 stars but it gets bumped up for the great writing in the final chapter

Justice for Janie!!
I have little thoughts for this book, but all I can say is Janie has been through a lot. Seeing her struggle to find love and losing it in the most heartbreaking way was a lot to read. The writing was beautiful and very deep, but overall I enjoyed this read.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Rounded down to 3 stars

Absolutely beautiful language and writing! I enjoyed the depiction and sense of black culture among the people. There are many things highlighted in the book, including sexism, racism, internalized racism, elitism, and others. Janie's journey to self-fulfillment, love, and peace was filled with troubles and I enjoyed the ending with her realizing that she had arrived at where she wanted.

I didn't connect with this book as much and, even though it is beautifully written, that causes me to rate it lower. I can recognize its goodness, but it just didn't hit as hard for me as it does for others. Still a good read though

Their reaction when they see the natives leaving before the storm... i still think about that and shiver.

no rating—i read this for school

Exquisite. I loved every page, even the ones I hated. What an ability to observe and depict human needs. What incredible beautiful puttogethering of words.

It's hard to rate this book. Hurston created great characters that we feel for and an engaging story. And most of the writing is beautiful. But the dialogue is difficult to read and pulls me out of the story.

Take the opening sentences:

“Janie saw her life like a great tree in leaf with the things suffered, things enjoyed, things done and undone. Dawn and doom was in the branches.”

The short novel is full of beautiful, poetic prose like that. But then the characters speak. At the time this was written, it was common for phonetic spelling to be used to show different accents. Hurston dials this up to eleven to the point that I often had to read the dialogue aloud to even know what it said. It's frustrating and breaks the spell of the story. Here's one example:

“It must be uh recess in heben if St. Peter is lettin' his angels out lak dis. You got three men already layin' at de point uh death ‘bout yuh, and heah's uhnother fool dat's willin' tuh make time on yo' gang.”

But overall, it's a powerful and well-written story about complicated love and perseverance of a marginalized black woman in my area of central Florida in the beginning of the 20th century.

Re-Read for the Black Classics Book Club hosted by @Loc'D Booktician on Youtube.

This will forever be a 5 star read. The writing is phenomenal and captures the vibe of the times.

This is not a happy story. I do not even find it a story of independence or even one of finding your true self. As simple and as quick of a read this is, it is equally if not more complicated.

This story speaks to:
MisogynyColorism
Closeness to whiteness and white power; how it is desired but if someone else has it you'll do anything to take it away or diminish it Physical abuse and the things humans do to make it ok and move on
Generational norms that inspire discussions on how to evolve now and not later to break those norms so as not to carry them onto the next generationKids should be encouraged to be kids for as long as they can
Coming into one's sexualityLove and what that looks like in different spaces
*Obligatory care of a relative does not equate to love

I do not fault Janie for the decisions she made because she did not know better. I do not fault her because she was not taught to have a voice of her own and was constantly surrounded by people who had thoughts regarding her life all the time. She made choices to leave people or places but where she ended up was not necessarily better than what she had left behind. She still allowed others to mold her into what they felt was most comforting to them. She understood that somethings were happening to her because of power struggles but kept allowing them to happen to appease their souls. In the end, we are not sure if Janie has truly learned from all that she has lived up until that point. In the end I wished her well.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Ruby Dee, which I highly recommend, but I also had a hard copy to consult (in which the dialect is very difficult to follow at times). As a writer, I could be critical of some craft choices that Hurston made–Janie is telling this story to her friend Phoeby, but the narrative slips out of that frame from time to time–but that would be beside the point. Janie's story is as compelling a story as there is and this book is one of the most powerful you'll ever hope to read.

This is a masterpiece. It is so lyrical, and beautiful, and profoundly real.

“You'se something tuh make uh man forgit tuh git old and forgit tuh die.”

Beautifully written and powerful. The story is very moving. I just didn't enjoy it. I felt bummed out and disinterested through the book.

This was my first audiobook and I absolutely loved it! Ruby Dee narrated with emotion and it sometimes felt like I was in a conversation with the characters. Hurston's book is wonderfully written, the language is often beautiful and poetic. It was a joy to listen to.

This is a classic for a reason; nothing else I say can really do it justice

Janie and her best friend Phoeby sit on Janie's porch while she describes her life, events and marriages, that led her to where she is .. and also so she can put the rumors of the townfolk to rest.

It was hard enough for a woman back in that day and age, and even still harder (almost impossible) for a colored woman. Men believed woman needed to have their thoughts and actions decided for them. What's described isn't an easy life, nor one full of heartache and despair. It's a life full of one woman's fight for independence, to be in love and feel that love in return.

When I started reading this I had no idea it was written back in 1937 nor did I realize it was considered a classic. What drew me was the title and description of the book. I can only describe this as a touching and thoughtful journey and one I think everyone should take.

To my shame, I had never heard of this book until I heard it talked about on BBC's A Good Read.

It is a rollicking good read.

I saw myself in the author and the main character of the book.

This book is SO well written, but I really hate the message. Because TO BE CLEAR, tea cake is not better than her other two husbands, he does not treat her better, his abuse is only OK because she loves him. And women can only find happiness through love right?