A review by emashreadingfast
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

5.0

When I read this book in high school I didn’t give it the appreciation it deserved. In 2020, I read In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens, which is a collection of essays by Alice Walker. Many of her essays sing the praises of Zora Neal Hurston. Walker actually went to the unmarked burial site of Zora Neal Hurston and pretended to be a relative, so that she could give Hurston a proper headstone. Walker describes how Hurston’s novel was unique for its time. Instead of writing black characters that were specifically struggling with race relations, she wrote a story about black characters having complex relationships with one another, that had little to do with white people. The book also touches on colorism within the black community. Their Eyes Were Watching God is a true romantic tragedy, but it also captures little joys and funny exchanges between characters. I appreciate the use of vernacular, and the ability to enter a world so different from mine through Hurston’s beautiful descriptions, while also being able to empathize with the female protagonist.