Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

11 reviews

historyoftape's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

There are so many good things packed into this story. A rich understanding if culture and language, characters that grow or are stifled depending on their environments, social, economic and political commentary, great dialogue, captivating imagery... It's a book that had me deeply invested in the main character's goals, dreams, and growth, where I loved the side characters, and where, while I may not have made similar decisions, I could understand and even support Janies decisions because I understood that they were the right path for her. The ending was heartbreaking and real, hurt me in a good way. It's been a while since I read a book that finished this strongly.

The way Janies words were so rare in the beginning of the story, to how confident and free in speaking she is by the end was one of the most striking things to me. One of the most effective but subtle ways to show her growth I have encountered in a while. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Blood, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Minor: Addiction

susanatherly's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Violence, and Abandonment

Minor: War

glorifiedloveletters's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I am both glad that I read this as a full-on adult, so I could properly appreciate it, and that I read it via audiobook, narrated by Ruby Dee, who does an excellent job with all the different voices.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Death

Minor: Gun violence

bringmybooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Another classic read - via audio - in 2023 and I'm so glad it was Their Eyes Were Watching God!

✨ 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 ✨ B̷O̷R̷R̷O̷W̷ B̷Y̷P̷A̷S̷S̷

The audio of this novel is absolutely stunning and I cannot recommend it highly enough - Ruby Dee does a phenomenal job narrating Janie's voice and story and I was swept up in the novel from pretty much the first chapter.

I loved the exploration of race, family, and community in the post slavery American South, and had a lot to think about upon finishing this book. I appreciated the vernacular that was used throughout, but definitely think I would have struggled with this had I not been listening to the audio. 

Janie's story was heartbreaking but also so beautiful and full of hope. I both loved and hated how things turned out at the end, and can absolutely see why this novel and Zora Neale Hurston's writing has stood the test of time.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism

darren_cormier's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs and Terminal illness

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, and Classism

Minor: Physical abuse, Racism, and Slavery

sydneylount's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Physical abuse, Grief, and Classism

Minor: Rape and Slavery

ekg's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, and Murder

Moderate: Death and Physical abuse

Minor: Slavery

amavi's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The dialogue was very hard for me to read/understand luckily people here mentioned the audiobook and that saved me. This book had beautifully written aspects that I enjoyed, and I respected how real, raw and honest it was and the valuable conversations it brought up but I didn't like anything else. This book is supposed to be about Janie, this is her story yet for some reason I felt like she was the background character. I got a lot more from the people in her life rather than her. I wish I got more from her. I did like the ending, I like to think that she is better now. I understand why this book is important and how it's valuable but it just wasn't for me. I do hope someone can find something useful, healing, loving, worthy in this book, I didn't but I'm sure it would work for someone else.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Body shaming and Racism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Death, Sexual content, and Murder

bbooklight's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

colorful, expansive language punctuated by moments of learning, fear, love, hate… this is a story of epic proportions 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Slavery

laura_huey's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston is a challenging, reflective look at love, marriage, and self-identity in Florida throughout the early 20th century, and offers a confronting yet affectionate glimpse of the area's African-American community at the time. 

Janie, the protagonist, has been raised by her grandmother, Nanny, and longs for a loving, equal marriage to bring her fulfilment in life. However, when Nanny catches her kissing a boy over the garden gate, she arranges what she believes will be a profitable marriage for Janie. We follow Janie throughout her life as she comes to understand what real love is, what constitutes a fulfilling life, and the sacrifices she'll make for someone she loves.

As a white Australian woman, I found this book to be a challenging read. It was beautifully written, and portions of Hurston's prose are almost poetic, but I found it took quite a while to get my head around the dialect that the novel is written in. Now that I know the story, I think I would benefit from rereading this book in the future. I'm also interested in viewing the film before revisiting the novel, as I think that may help me with the dialect also.

Overall an excellent read. I recommend approaching it with compassion for all the characters and not forming your opinions about them until the end. Everyone is complex and has layered motivations behind their choices, so it's important not to judge them too quickly.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, Grief, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Medical content, and Alcohol

Minor: Child death, Death of parent, and Dysphoria