It is so easy to be hopeful in the day time when you can see the things you wish on. But it was night, it stayed night. Night was striding across nothingness with the whole round world in his hands.
Zora Neale Hurston
Their Eyes Were Watching God
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Format:
Publisher’s Synopsis:
Janie Crawford, a light, long-legged, self-sufficient and eloquent woman. Sets out to be her person. A no common feat for a black woman in the ’30s. Janie’s journey for identity takes her through three wedlock and into a course back to her roots.
Point of view:
3rd person.
Rellim’s Thoughts:
3/29/2023: This is my second time listening to this and I enjoyed it even more. It’s also a hard book at times. Themes like child abuse, domestic abuse, racism, misogyny, bullying, and grief are realistic, frustrating, and sad.
The bulk of the book follows the life of Janie – a Black girl and then woman who grows up in the South. While not a romance, it’s very much about defining and searching for love as well as examining what makes a relationship fulfilling. In some respects, there’s no happy ending as much as it’s a retrospective of Janie’s life and how it was to her versus those on the outside.
Narration:
I have to say that if I had read this – I probably wouldn’t have finished it. My brain gets too hung up on the phonetic spelling (and there is a LOT of dialogue) and can’t really enjoy or even keep track of the plot. I loved Ruby Dee’s narration and am so grateful to enjoy this brought to life by her performance.
About the author:
You can learn more about Zora Neale Hurston here:
My Favorite Quotes
“There is a basin in the mind where words float around on thought and thought on sound and sight. Then there is a depth of thought untouched by words, and deeper still a gulf of formless feelings untouched by thought.”
“A little war of defense for helpless things was going on inside her.”
“She didn’t read books so she didn’t know that she was the world and the heavens boiled down to a drop.”
“It is so easy to be hopeful in the day time when you can see the things you wish on. But it was night, it stayed night. Night was striding across nothingness with the whole round world in his hands.”
Rellim Reads 