Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Publisher: Harper & Row
# of pages: 184
My rating: 2/5
Back of Book:
First published in 1937, Their Eyes Were Watching God is Zora Neale Hurston’s most highly acclaimed novel. A classic of black literature, it tells with haunting sympathy and piercing immediacy the story of Janie Crawford's evolving selfhood through three marriages. Fair-skinned, long-haired, dreamy as a child, Janie grows up expecting better treatment than she gets until she meets Tea Cake, a younger man who engages her heart and spirit in equal measure and gives her the chance to enjoy life without being one man's mule or another man's adornment. It is a tribute to the author's wisdom that though her story does not end happily, it does draw to a satisfying conclusion. Janie is one black woman who doesn't have to live lost in sorrow, bitterness, fear, or foolish romantic dreams, for Janie and the reader have learned "two things everybody's got tuh do fuh theyselves. They got tuh go tuh God, and they got tuh find out about livin' fuh theyselves."
After hearing that this book had a strong female character, I have to say I was disappointed. I learned more about the other characters than I did about Janie. To me, she was extremely dull. The entirety of her existence in this book is to do what her husbands tell her to. All three of them. The way she reads is like a woman who wants to be taken care of and do what she wants at the same time without ever having to work if it seems like actual work.
What really interested me in the story were all of the side characters. They were rich and full of life and interest. They weren't always nice but they were real and reading about them wasn't nearly as painful as reading about the spoiled protagonist. It says a lot about the side characters that there were at least twenty mentioned but I always knew who was who.
Even with the short page count, it took me over a week to read the thing. I'd love to say nothing happens but that wouldn't be fair. Things happen but in a very dull, none-of-this-really-matters way. Personally, I would have liked to see more happen, a lower page count or even have better writing to make the most of the events.
That's right, I didn't like the writing. That's not strictly true of everything. I like the dialogue. It flowed well and it lent a poetical tone but it was in harsh contrast to the stilted, almost pretentious, prose. The two did not work together.
I don't want to say much about the ending but the best way I can describe the last fourth of the book is "what the hell is going on?" It's all utterly normal but in the most nonsensical of ways. The buildup to the climax lasted about a page and a half. Not enough for me to appreciate.
All in all, I'm glad I read this book only if it's because I'm glad I'll have the shelf space now. However, I don't think I'll be reading any of Hurston's other works.