classics

In "Their Eyes," Hurston uses simple words to paint a stunning setting and story in the South, all from the eyes of a woman. This novel provides something that I've never quite tasted before in black literature: feminism. It's subtle, albeit, even hidden, but it's there. The main character, Janie, initially seems to contradict all typical ideas of independence and strength as our heroine, but by the end of the novel, we feel a comanding sense of sisterhood with her...and begin to understand all the dynamics of her life. The author's use of slang and written dialect gives the story flare - you may find that you're mumbling to yourself in the same manner as the characters! I can't even begin to go into all of the reasons why this book is a "MUST READ" for anyone...it's unique, emotionally gripping, and you won't be able to put it down. In fact, you'll finish it in a couple of days! Take my word for it, as my opinion of this author and her novels is humbly accompanied by many famous authors of our time: enjoy this story that Miss Zora has spun for us!

After reading Richard Wright and Ralph Ellison, I came to expect all African-American fiction to focus, at least partially, on exposing and protesting racism. This was and is a worthy cause, but, I must confess, it makes reading more laborious. Surely, I thought, there was more to the pre-civil rights black story than simply fighting against the injustices of whitey.

This book is a celebration of southern black culture, not black oppression, or black resistance, though these are not completely absent. This is the story of a mildly privileged black woman in the south who must decide between the comforts of a stable but loveless marriage and the less certain prospects of true love with a drifter.

If you find the paragons of the black canon a bit too preachy, this will be a breath of fresh air.

This is my favorite book written by a female author.

Criticized for not writing a protest novel by some of her fellow African-American writers of the time, Zora instead wrote one of the most poetic novels ever written in the United States. Written in the vernacular of her African-American characters while narrated in standard form, this novel is a blues tale which uses both variations of the language to tranport the reader into the heart and soul of Janie, a young African-American woman in the 1930s on a search.

Musical, heartbreaking, endearing, hilarious, and a novel where the issues of the day enter in horrific ways, this book's title has to best describe Zora as she wrote this book, divinely inspired. There is love, there is marriage, there is separation, there is an irrepressible woman who still speaks to all about the search all meaningful lives undertake.

Alice Walker so loved this book and this author she restored her grave.