Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

12 reviews

hannahcstocks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Dementia, Racism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Violence, Dysphoria, Xenophobia, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Abandonment, Infidelity, Grief, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Blood, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

jasisreading'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

5.0

A devastating tale of a woman finding and reclaiming herself, throughout her adult life. The writing is impeccable. The audio performance by Ruby Dee is unmatched. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, Alcohol, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and Violence

Minor: Xenophobia

Reading this in high school vs reading this now and understanding the writing on a more mature level. Because

I absolutely forgot Tea Cake had to die because this man ended up with rabies and he attacked Janie towards the end. And the trial, and aftermath, drawing stark parallels with our current interactions with the criminal justice system

themichellegray's review against another edition

challenging hopeful reflective slow-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

4.0

2024 Re-Read - 4 stars
A poetic book that celebrates language and the power of finding your voice while simultaneously offering a look at feminism in the 1930's. I originally read this in my high school english class and still find the written preservation of Black American's dialect at the turn of the twentieth century to be the most memorable part of the story.

While this book follows Janie throughout stages of womanhood and details her romantic relationships, I wouldn't classify this as a romance. Instead it is a slower paced journey of self-discovery while living in a highly misogynistic and racist world. While Tea Cake's character was flawed, he brought so much joy into an otherwise challenging novel and I couldn't help but admire him.

This is definitely a story that is meant to be deeply analyzed and discussed (which would make for a great book club pick). While I was able to grasp the overall symbolism and metaphors, the writing style often became dull which removed me from the narrative leaving me a little lost.

The content of this book can be difficult to consume but offers such a hopeful message that is sure to make you reflect on your own life, appreciate the progress that has been made since its publication, and help to understand how our language has evolved and intertwined over time.

Original Read (2007) - 5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Racial slurs, Death, and Racism

Moderate: Gun violence, Grief, and Slavery

Minor: Rape, Alcohol, Abandonment, Animal death, and Sexual harassment

alexisgarcia's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

a very good book, especially considering when it was written. it was way ahead of its time. the characters were incredibly realistic. they were lovable but definitely flawed. this book could’ve been nonfiction because of how real and natural the characters and plot were. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual content, Alcohol, Classism, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Violence, Murder, Sexism, Terminal illness, Gaslighting, Racism, and Toxic relationship

nmsp123's review

adventurous emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I had to read this for my college English class and this book is great and it had a crazy ending! I gave it a 3/5 stars because although the plot/story is good I couldn’t get past the horrible dialogue. I was having a really hard time understanding the speech. I eventually did figure most of it out but sometimes I had to read the sentences multiple times just to understand. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Death, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Gun violence

Minor: Sexual assault

melodyramirez's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Very similar themes to the color purple. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Classism, Cursing, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship

bringmybooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense medium-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

4.5

Another classic read - via audio - in 2023 and I'm so glad it was Their Eyes Were Watching God!

✨ 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 ✨ B̷O̷R̷R̷O̷W̷ B̷Y̷P̷A̷S̷S̷

The audio of this novel is absolutely stunning and I cannot recommend it highly enough - Ruby Dee does a phenomenal job narrating Janie's voice and story and I was swept up in the novel from pretty much the first chapter.

I loved the exploration of race, family, and community in the post slavery American South, and had a lot to think about upon finishing this book. I appreciated the vernacular that was used throughout, but definitely think I would have struggled with this had I not been listening to the audio. 

Janie's story was heartbreaking but also so beautiful and full of hope. I both loved and hated how things turned out at the end, and can absolutely see why this novel and Zora Neale Hurston's writing has stood the test of time.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Classism, Gaslighting, Sexism, Racism, Slavery, Animal death, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Death, Racial slurs, and Terminal illness

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. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Slavery and Alcohol

Minor: Sexual content

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

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Content Warnings

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

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

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

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.

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Content Warnings

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

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

Minor: Antisemitism