About this title: Zora Neale Hurston's now-classic novel about Janie Crawford, the granddaughter of an ex-slave, and her three husbands: Mr. Killicks, Mayor Starks and, finally, Tea Cake--the love of her life. The novel is set in a black community in rural Florida, and the characters speak in dialect--a technique that inspired both anger and praise from other black ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Date Published: 1990
ISBN-13:9780060916503ISBN:0060916508
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Text has some incidences of underlining and margin notes. Some of the pages show creases at the corners(apparently used as bookmarks). No creasing at all. Binding is tight. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 207 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9780060931414ISBN:0060931418
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Very minimal corner curling. No other flaws. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 240 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Edition: reprint
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Date Published: 1987
ISBN-13:9780252006869ISBN:0252006860
Description: Gently read trade paperback in good condition. NO writing, highlighting, or dog-eared pages. Edges of the text block show light soiling. Cover shows minor wear with spine creasing. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial Modern Classics
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9780060838676ISBN:0060838671
Description: Good. Some highlighting and/or underlining is present. A few pages have notes or written answers. Light soiling on sides of book. Good reading copy. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Date Published: 1990
ISBN-13:9780060916503ISBN:0060916508
Description: A good reading copy only. Previous owners name inscribed inside front and page edges. May have underlining or highlighting throughout. Contains marginalia. -, Trade PaperBack, Good / read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Harper Perennial Modern Classics
Date Published: 1998
ISBN-13:9780060931414ISBN:0060931418
Description: A wonderful copy with some minor edgewear to the cover. Previous owners name inscribed inside front. -, Trade PaperBack, Very Good / read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial Modern Classics
Date Published: 1998
ISBN-13:9780060931414ISBN:0060931418
Description: Good. 91-V Books rated "Good" may have some notes, underlining, or highlighting. These books also may contain the previous owner's name, stamp, sticker, or gift inscription, or may be library discards. read more
"You know those books that sit on your shelf and mock you for being too hesitant to pick them up? We all have them. They sit there, perched on the edge of the shelf like hooligans on a stoop tossing out insults to passersby and just daring them to pick them up and give 'em a spin. For me, Their Eyes Were Watching God was the ringleader of my abusive books. It would yell vicious things at me as I sat near the shelf and once, in collusion with my long-time archenemy gravity, contrived to whap me upside the head. Suffice to say, I was intimidated. Yet we all have to face our fears at some time and February seemed like the right time for me.
Looking back on my years-long avoidance of this book, I can't help but think that I make some truly awful decisions. This is one of the most lyrically beautiful books that I have ever read and, at the same time, one of the most ground-breaking portraits of an independent woman's voice that I've ever come across. Neale Hurston's book is simultaneously a work of art and a strong declaration of independence for the entire female gender.
Janie is a woman who first tries to conform herself to the molds that she has been taught in the form of two very dissatisfying marriages to men who feel compelled to, after heaping praise upon her for her independent spirit, snuff it completely out. After the death of her second husband, Janie chucks social propriety out the window and listens instead to that niggling voice inside that dares her to dream of a better life, even if the person she wants to share that life with is far beneath her on the limiting rungs of social positioning. Instead this man, the charming and appreciative Tea Cake, is a rascal who cares more about enjoying the everyday moments of life than he does for climbing to the top of the dung heap. His very lack of sober seriousness is what draws Janie to him, his living example proof of what is possible for her.
Hurston's style is beautiful, her poetic prose balanced perfectly with spot-on accurate renderings of the rural Southern dialect. J.D. Salinger, who I hold in the absolute highest esteem when it comes to rating dialogue, is put to shame by Hurston's ability to craft the slow drawl and missing consonants in her characters' speech. Reading it can not help but conjure each person's voice within your head so that, after a while, it's as though you're listening to a radio telecast rather than reading a book."
"This book was a little hard to get into, just because of the styl of writing. Zora Neale Hurston uses authentic African-American language from times of slavery throughout the book, and for me, someone who has never read anything like that, it was very strange at first. There are times when I had to read out loud to understand what they were saying. However, this book sends a powerful message about the state of the African-American woman during and just after the time of slavery. It was very interesting, as it was told from the perspective of an African-American woman. Just be prepared for a little confusion as you start this book.
Janie is a girl who has always known what she wants. Throughout her life, she is searching for something, and she has to go through three different marriages to finally find what she is looking for. Amidst the trials of poverty, and feelings of helplessness, and the difficulties of being unloved, Janie perserves until she can find happiness and peace in her life."
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