Scan barcode
A review by perilous1
Mules and Men by Zora Neale Hurston
3.0
This was almost two different works mashed into one collection.
The first part is the apparent result of Hurston traveling around Florida, gathering folklore and humorous tales. It is interesting from an anthropological standpoint. She leaves this largely to the tellers, and so there's very little of the author's astonishingly iconic voice to be had. (I found this a tad disappointing. It just didn't have the same depth or balance as is shown in her approach to Barracoon.)
The second part has much more of Hurston's personal narration, as she gives an account of her research and apprenticing into the world of Voodoo. The focus on ritual is extensive. I didn't expect Zora to go so all out in her quest to learn more about the Vodun. But by her own matter-of-fact admission, she actively participated in animal sacrifices, and rituals intended to curse and kill their intended human targets. What's more... we really aren't permitted much sense of her feelings on these things--for which she was more than just a passive observer/recorder.
I'll have to ruminate on this piece a while longer. I'm overall left unsure and a little unsettled.
The first part is the apparent result of Hurston traveling around Florida, gathering folklore and humorous tales. It is interesting from an anthropological standpoint. She leaves this largely to the tellers, and so there's very little of the author's astonishingly iconic voice to be had. (I found this a tad disappointing. It just didn't have the same depth or balance as is shown in her approach to Barracoon.)
The second part has much more of Hurston's personal narration, as she gives an account of her research and apprenticing into the world of Voodoo. The focus on ritual is extensive. I didn't expect Zora to go so all out in her quest to learn more about the Vodun. But by her own matter-of-fact admission, she actively participated in animal sacrifices, and rituals intended to curse and kill their intended human targets. What's more... we really aren't permitted much sense of her feelings on these things--for which she was more than just a passive observer/recorder.
I'll have to ruminate on this piece a while longer. I'm overall left unsure and a little unsettled.