BOOK REVIEW - THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Format: Paperback

Publisher: Virago Press

Published: 2020 (First published 1937)

Setting: US

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Synopsis

One of the most important and enduring books of the twentieth century, Their Eyes Were Watching God brings to life a Southern love story with the wit and pathos found only in the writing of Zora Neale Hurston. Out of print for almost thirty years—due largely to initial audiences’ rejection of its strong black female protagonist—Hurston’s classic has since its 1978 reissue become perhaps the most widely read and highly acclaimed novel in the canon of African-American literature.One of the most important and enduring books of the twentieth century, Their Eyes Were Watching God brings to life a Southern love story with the wit and pathos found only in the writing of Zora Neale Hurston. Out of print for almost thirty years—due largely to initial audiences’ rejection of its strong black female protagonist—Hurston’s classic has since its 1978 reissue become perhaps the most widely read and highly acclaimed novel in the canon of African-American literature.

My Thoughts....

My wise friend always says, it takes a black woman to centre and amplify another black woman and this is evident in the life of Zora Neale Hurston. Most of her work was received with hostility and this book in particular, published in 1937 (85 years ago!) was rejected for it’s strong black female protagonist. Zora died poor, in an aged home and worked as a housemaid towards the end of her life. She was buried in an unmarked grave, despite having written 4 full novels and over 50 short stories, plays and essays. It wasn’t until Alice Walker (another black woman) wrote an essay titled ‘In Search of Zora’ in 1975 where she chronicled her search for Zora’s unmarked grave that her work begun receiving attention. This book was reissued in 1978 and is now lauded as being the most widely read and highly acclaimed novel.

“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.”

The story begins with Janie’s return to her home town of Eatonville, Florida, to the gossip and the side-eyes and chitter-chatter of her neighbours. A few years ago, she took off with a man several years younger, after inheriting a fortune from her dead husband, so why is she back home alone? What happened to the young man? Did he spend all her money and then ditch her for a younger woman? And so the townspeople talk and talk. Her only ally is her old friend Phoebe whom she recounts her entire life’s story to.

In this recounting, we learn of Janie’s childhood and how at 13 she was married off to an older man after her grandmother saw her kissing a local boy. Though reluctantly, she gets into marriage thinking that love is something that would grow between her and her new husband. But everything about him repulses her and the love refuses to grow.

“She knew now that marriage did not make love. Janie’s first dream was dead, so she became a woman.”

Janie runs off to an all-black community in Florida with her 2nd husband – Jody - after he promises a more exciting life of adventure and abundance. But for 20 years, Janie endures a life of abuse, criticism, psychological and physical abuse. I was not particularly sad when he died.

“So gradually, she pressed her teeth together and learned to hush. The spirit of the marriage left the bedroom and took to living in the parlour. It was there to shake hands whenever company came to visit, but it never went back inside the bedroom again.”

A short while after, Janie meets Tea Cake, a man 10 years younger and runs off with him. Janie gets to experience the love that she has craved all her life, though this is not without its challenges and a very tragic ending.

“Janie looked down on him and felt a self-crushing love. So her soul crawled out from its hiding place.”

I found this book so powerful for the same reasons it was shunned – it’s powerful portrayal of a black woman. Admittedly, Janie existed in a time that was hostile and unloving to black women but she was always questioning, always voicing out her opinions, always doing what her heart commanded her to do. And even when the men in her life tried to break her, and maybe even succeeded, Janie was able to pick herself up and live by her own rules. I can understand why this was so unsettling for most people at the time.

Once I got over the challenging vernacular, I annotated, I underlined, I bookmarked so so many sentences and paragraphs. This book is so beautifully written and so well structured, I am both happy and sad that I’m only now getting to read it. Such an engrossing read