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emilyconstance's review against another edition
3.0
this has been on my TBR list forever so i'm really disappointed in how little i enjoyed it. It just felt like something was missing...some analysis or insight...but the stories and the lore were still fun and interesting
wellreadandratchet's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
bioniclib's review against another edition
5.0
This really shoulda been two books; the first dealing with Folk Tales of African Americans in the South, the second on how to become ordained in Hoodoo.
The first part was as lyrical and as funny as the last book by her I read, Their Eyes Were Watching God. It also deals with the African American Culture as a complete culture, for the most part. While the folk tales invariably deal with slavery a lot of the time, and the people from whom Zora is gathering these tales are working for some white man or another, it doesn't do much deal with how African Americans see themselves in relation to whites. There's still a bit of WEB Dubois' double consciousness at work, but that has to do with Zora not being a Southern anymore and not trying to keep an eye on how white people are seeing how black people are acting.
The Southerns call the stories they tell lies. Which I thought was great. The lies often focus on how blacks can outwit whites but still lose. They do not think highly of themselves, or perhaps it's the same mentality that gave birth to The Dozens. I had no idea the game dated back to the 1920s. You may know by the name it's under now; Yo Mama jokes.
But the way with words goes far above just lies. The imagery they use for everyday life is simply brilliant. On other random thought before I finish off this review with some of my favorite quotes.
So often a slave is given a new suit of clothes before being set free it reminds me of how a house elf is set free.
Onto the quotes:
"De sun was so hot till a grindstone melted and run off in de shade to cool off." (20)
"Youse so black till they have to throw a sheet over yo’ head so de sun kin rise every mornin’." (28)
"He didn’t die—he jus’ uglied away.” (68)
"A snail was crossin’ de road for seben years. Just as he got across a tree fell and barely missed him ’bout a inch or two. If he had a been where he was six months before it would er kilt him. De snail looked back at de tree and tole de people, ‘See, it pays to be fast.’” (127)
"Man wasn’t made until around half-past five on the sixth day, so he can’t know how anything was done." (184)
The first part was as lyrical and as funny as the last book by her I read, Their Eyes Were Watching God. It also deals with the African American Culture as a complete culture, for the most part. While the folk tales invariably deal with slavery a lot of the time, and the people from whom Zora is gathering these tales are working for some white man or another, it doesn't do much deal with how African Americans see themselves in relation to whites. There's still a bit of WEB Dubois' double consciousness at work, but that has to do with Zora not being a Southern anymore and not trying to keep an eye on how white people are seeing how black people are acting.
The Southerns call the stories they tell lies. Which I thought was great. The lies often focus on how blacks can outwit whites but still lose. They do not think highly of themselves, or perhaps it's the same mentality that gave birth to The Dozens. I had no idea the game dated back to the 1920s. You may know by the name it's under now; Yo Mama jokes.
But the way with words goes far above just lies. The imagery they use for everyday life is simply brilliant. On other random thought before I finish off this review with some of my favorite quotes.
So often a slave is given a new suit of clothes before being set free it reminds me of how a house elf is set free.
Onto the quotes:
"De sun was so hot till a grindstone melted and run off in de shade to cool off." (20)
"Youse so black till they have to throw a sheet over yo’ head so de sun kin rise every mornin’." (28)
"He didn’t die—he jus’ uglied away.” (68)
"A snail was crossin’ de road for seben years. Just as he got across a tree fell and barely missed him ’bout a inch or two. If he had a been where he was six months before it would er kilt him. De snail looked back at de tree and tole de people, ‘See, it pays to be fast.’” (127)
"Man wasn’t made until around half-past five on the sixth day, so he can’t know how anything was done." (184)
naimar's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.0
First of all, I’m not sure why this is categorized as fictional on here. It is a collection of folklore and the author’s personal accounts about hoodoo, so I can’t exactly fill out the parameters about characters or mood. That being said, I found especially the first half of the book to not have been put together in the most compelling way, though the second half about hoodoo was much more interesting.
wherewolf37's review
adventurous
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
breadhag's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
marschwartz's review against another edition
funny
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
buffalokid's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
3.75
Obscure. Communal. Black.
The power in this book comes from the sheer ability to make it feel like I'm in a room of old school black folks. The kind that helped get us to where we are today by just BEING. It's different. Its community. It's funny. Strange. It's a lot of things. I didn't love the stories but I loved the storytelling, and would recommend it for anyone looking to connect to black history on a communal, couch like approach. I appreciate Hurston for capturing this. I don't know how much was made up, but it was damn sho entertaining.
The power in this book comes from the sheer ability to make it feel like I'm in a room of old school black folks. The kind that helped get us to where we are today by just BEING. It's different. Its community. It's funny. Strange. It's a lot of things. I didn't love the stories but I loved the storytelling, and would recommend it for anyone looking to connect to black history on a communal, couch like approach. I appreciate Hurston for capturing this. I don't know how much was made up, but it was damn sho entertaining.
dustyshell's review against another edition
4.0
The writing in this wasn't as powerful as some of Zora's other works and because of my own Christian beliefs, the second half on Hoodoo was very unsettling, but I throughly enjoyed the folk tales of the first half. A few made me laugh out loud. A great read for black American folklore.
smiti_nathan's review
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5