EnShanté

“Their Eyes Were Watching God,” written by Zora Neale Hurston, is a Novel about a woman’s journey of self discovery. The book is described as a “Bold feminist novel” in its afterward; I’m still struggling to view it as such but I don’t disagree with that take as strongly as I did before. I think I’m struggling to associate the book with feminism because of how male-centered I perceived Janie to be.

My favorite character was…

I think Janie’s grandmother is my favorite character. Not because she was great but because of the feelings that she evoked. She just felt so familiar and admirable. She endured America’s greatest failure (slavery) and seemed to lead with her heart. A lot of her advice/judgments were tainted by internalized racism and misogyny but I feel like she meant well.

Instead of feeling like a reader, I felt like a nosey neighbor eavesdropping on my porch or a little kid listening in on grown folk’s business.

My least favorite character was…

Now, if you’ve read this book, you know there are worse characters deserving of this title but I’m going with Janie. I’m sorry but she was absolutely wretched. So fucking annoying. Like, why was she so committed to making one stupid decision after the next? She had a few opportunities to choose herself and, in a sense, be a free woman and no. Each time, she decided to choose a man. I know she was living in a different time than we are now and I’m fully aware that I’m judging her but, girl, STAND UP!

I enjoyed…

I really enjoyed the dialogue. I love how much and the way that Hurston emphasized their southern accents. It was authentic and helped boost my reading experience. Instead of feeling like a reader, I felt like a nosey neighbor eavesdropping on my porch or a little kid listening in on grown folk’s business.

I didn’t enjoy…

I didn’t enjoy Janie’s journey. I wanted better for her.

I rate this book…

Three or four stars. Maybe I need to read it again but I feel like the plot wasn’t strong. Like, yes, Janie was out there finding herself but it didn’t feel intentional. It felt like I was just watching this lady go through different experiences and meet random people that could be throwaway characters but aren’t because they latched onto each other and became more important than they needed to be.

Would you recommend it?

I recommend this book to anyone interested in taking a peek at life for Black people back in time. I don’t know if this book is considered historical fiction but I think it’s historical fictiony. Hurston places Janie into scenes that highlight life for Black people about two generations removed from slavery. She touches on colorism, the making of a town, and the tension between free Black people and the entitled racists who refuse to accept that they are free.