Their Eyes Were Watching God

ByZora Neale Hurston

Release Date: 2009-03-17
Genre: Black Literature

Score: 4

From 652 Ratings

Description

A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick

“A deeply soulful novel that comprehends love and cruelty, and separates the big people from the small of heart, without ever losing sympathy for those unfortunates who don’t know how to live properly.” —Zadie Smith

One of the most important and enduring books of the twentieth century, Their Eyes Were Watching God brings to life a Southern love story with the wit and pathos found only in the writing of Zora Neale Hurston. Out of print for almost thirty years—due largely to initial audiences’ rejection of its strong black female protagonist—Hurston’s classic has since its 1978 reissue become perhaps the most widely read and highly acclaimed novel in the canon of African-American literature.

Reviews

Love it
5
By ThePiscesT
I love what Janie represented, innocence, exploration, freedom. She was heavily drawn to waters. She seen the calmness of it and how monstrous it could be.
Bittersweet Reality Check
5
By oct0nami
This story left me with nothing but an acute awareness that the people I love and hold close to my heart will not be around forever; no matter how much I want/need them to be. After finishing this book, you may want to kiss the significant other in your life and express your feelings of affection for them before it’s too late.
One of My Favorites
5
By FaithDonahue1999
I read this book for my AP English class, and I truly loved it! I'll probably be returning to it again and again
Had to Read for English and I'm Glad I Did!
4
By TheNumber1Hero
At first I was a little weary of this book. I've only ever loved one book that was a required read for school and that was "Catcher in the Rye." I'm not a big fan of historical fiction normally as I'm more of a sci-fi and fantasy girl so I was expecting to hate this book. I was happily surprised however! The plot started out slow but quickly picked itself up. I actually wanted to read ahead of my class and looked forward to when new pages were assigned. I found the main character relatable and a good case study on how relationships should and shouldn't work. It tackles big issues on womanhood and growing up with amazing word choice and elegant ways of pointing out the most obvious things. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone who has an open mind and is ready to open it further. Very amazing book!
Simply Great
5
By MiltonDJr
After listening to other refer to this book, I finally read it for myself. I wasn't disappointed. Simply a great story.
Amazing!
5
By Reviewer0682
For my summer project for junior year of high school (two summers ago), I had to read this book. The second I picked up the book, it completely drew me in and I was mesmerized.

I do see a lot of myself in Janie, falling in love, seeing the love was not right, and later repeating it until she found Tea Cake. Janie, in my opinion started out naive, like most girls such as myself do when it comes to falling in love, but I was very proud of her when she left her first husband, Logan, and when she started to stand up for herself when Joe started abusing her.

This book was amazing, and will ALWAYS and forever be a favorite of mine. Even though it's been a year since I've read this book, I still talk about it to this day, and yes still cry over it.

This book is honestly a must read.
Terrible
1
By TDigs64
Hurston's point in this story is to spread the idea of feminine power, etc.. She chooses a terrible protagonist in Janie, who is not likable at all. She is never satisfied with her husband. She does not want to work. She is a bad wife. I hated this book!
Beautifully written and gripping
5
By ChristineNYC
I couldn't put it down. The writing is lyrical and poetic, yet very natural. Zora's writing captures a time and a culture that seems both real and mythical. I'm blown away. Now I want to read her autobiography.
Wow
5
By Anonymous122346799000
Just a great read.
Awful
1
By CampDog
Worst book I've ever read