burksandcaicos's review against another edition
2.0
The more I read of Zora Neale Hurston's thoughts on gender/race/politics, the more Alice Walker (notorious TERF and antisemite) being the one who (re)introduced her to a new and broader audience takes shape and becomes funnier and funnier.
hikio123's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
I found the book interesting. It is a product of its time, and thought I can understand why some of the content was not released, I find that I could not find myself to agree with a lot of it. It does give a picture of times before ours, and the very big contrast between ideology and how race is perceived, but it was very hard to read anything about gender in that book. Some of the ideas felt like she spoke directly into the ears of incels and aged very poorly, but again, doesn't take away that the majority of the content was from the 1930s to 1950s.
An interesting read about social ideologies of the past, but I wouldn't hold it as timeless.
An interesting read about social ideologies of the past, but I wouldn't hold it as timeless.
jerihurd's review against another edition
4.0
Let me start by saying Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God is hands-down, I-don't-even-have-to-think-about-it my all time favorite book. This is definitely not that. But these essays do show the quality and breadth of her thinking. I didn't read every one, and some are definitely "of the moment" (the essay on the Howard University "scandal" completely lost me); Nor are all of them successful (looking at you, "Noses"). However she shines most brightly when discussing language and, of course, race, which is a considerable part of the book. I wish she were here to get her take on Kendi , diAngelo and their cohort--I suspect she'd consider them part of the "sobbing school of negrohood," as she adamantly, eloquently and repeatedly argues that OF COURSE, black people are more than the color of their skin. She'd probably fall in more with McWhorter and Coleman Hughes. In any case she is, as always, a pleasure to read and I leave the book more enlightened than I entered. And now it's time to reread Their Eyes.
lindalou22's review against another edition
I would like to finish this book someday, but it expired on Libby and I am engrossed with other reads.
mbondlamberty's review against another edition
3.0
If you have read other books by Hurston (like Barracoon or Their Eyes Were Watching God) a lot of this will be a repeat.
Other parts will be a lot of inside poker - talking about people you might know or care about.
Felt that the last part made the book worth it as that part was new to me as was the background of the DAR incident. Had never heard about Ruby McCollum's murder trial.
Other parts will be a lot of inside poker - talking about people you might know or care about.
Felt that the last part made the book worth it as that part was new to me as was the background of the DAR incident. Had never heard about Ruby McCollum's murder trial.
susanreadstheworld's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
ljjohnson8's review against another edition
3.0
Like any collection of 35+ items, it's not surprising to like some things, love others, and not like some more. I had only ever read Hurston's fiction so every one of these essays were new to me. Some were incredibly powerful and written with such a strong, clear voice that I was knocked back in my seat. But I also had problems with some, especially in the last section; I think the problem is that, despite the editors' attempts with annotations, context was often lacking, and my reading and understanding suffered for it. For me, this collection serves best as a snapshot of the past.