Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

69 reviews

sydneylount's review

emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Physical abuse, Grief, and Classism

Minor: Rape and Slavery

ekg's review

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, and Murder

Moderate: Death and Physical abuse

Minor: Slavery

seawarrior's review against another edition

4.0

This was a wise, lyrical novel written in both straightforward prose and dialect-rich dialogue. The characters in this novel have a variety of strengths, weaknesses, and ways of living in a world that is often merciless to them. One thing that struck me is how much humor is in this novel, laughing with each other cements friendships between the men Janie knows, and represents an alteration in her sense of freedom once she's able to similarly engage with them and tell her own humourous stories. Throughout the novel Janie lives marriages that revolve around work and duty, wealth and prestige, and finally, taking pleasure in life and the people you're with. None of these marriages are perfect, and none fully define Janie. Yet her last marriage gives her what she was searching for as a girl, a love that leads her to blossom and truly feel appreciation for the world she lives in. This was an engaging, devastating novel that deserves its place as a legend in literary canon. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Classism

Moderate: Slavery and Alcohol

Minor: Sexual content

honeyvoiced's review

reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Racial slurs

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Slavery

sarasreading's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

The writing, especially in the beginning and the end, is stunning. The plot is quite slow in the middle. I would have much preferred reading about how she became friends with Phoebe, instead of hearing endless stories from the men on the porch, but that's just my personal preference. Glad I finally read this one! 

P.s. Why yes, I AM flying through books atm. One busy day has put me in bed for the weekend (yay fatigue), so what better to do than read all day long? 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Animal death, Domestic abuse, and Classism

Minor: Slavery

amiyaabrown's review

challenging emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

this book is honestly very good. it was hard to get into because of how intense it was with the racism, colorism, and constant misogyny. i loved seeing how every person in janie’s life impacted everything around her and i loved the character development. i liked how you could see that janie was not meant for her time period, she was more of a modern person the way she’d rebel against everyone around her, seen from literally the first chapter. it was an interesting read and i 100% would read it again to pick up details i missed from the first time.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Gun violence

Minor: Animal death and Slavery

rzh's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

ohh the prose here is magical. starts off a little slow but the portrayal of love, of janie’s self-development, her moving through the seasons of her life, the heartbreaking end… stunning ! marked down only because it is a bit slow to start off and it took me til about halfway to really get going with it, but i reckon if i reread it i would get going with it earlier on. the rural african american dialect also slowed me down a little as it wasn’t very familiar, but really added a beautiful oral traditional feel to the book so it was worth the initial struggle!! 4 stars

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Misogyny and Slavery

zombiezami's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Cursing, Fatphobia, Racial slurs, and Racism

Minor: Drug abuse, Rape, Slavery, Blood, Death of parent, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

Natural disasters, Colorism, Eugenics

amsswim's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

As far as classics go, this has got to be one that has stuck with me more than most others. First read it in high school, really liked it then. Reading again, it was so much better than I remembered. Her writing is so vivid and truly pulls you through the story. An already short read for me went by faster because it is such a good story. Janey is a wonderful main character, and her journey to Tea Cake is incredible. I also love the author's commentary on feminism, intersectionality, and society at large. Devastatingly sweet book.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Animal death, Hate crime, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Antisemitism

bookishplantmom's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

It’s clear to me why this is a classic. This was beautifully written. The author tells the story of Janie’s life through a story within a story format along with some brief vignettes from the MCs past. The story is melancholic and reflective. It was a pleasure to watch Janie in all of her iterations in different chapters of her life. Gorgeous book. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, and Rape

Minor: Child death and Slavery