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emeraldgarnet's review against another edition
3.0
Hurston's writing style can be laugh out loud funny, for instance in chapter one where Janie says, "Yeah, Sam say most of 'em goes to church so they'll be sure to rise in Judgment. Dat's de day dat every secret is s'posed to be made known. They wants to be there and here it all." Yet it can also be profound, as in chapter three with the narration, "There are years that ask questions and years that answer."
I enjoyed much of Huston's prose, for instance in chapter seven where she describes how the passing of time and the spending of years on end with Joe have beaten Janie down as, "The years took all the fight out of Janie's face."
What freedom means is a running theme throughout the novel. In chapter 12 Janie describes being with Joe as stifling while being with Tea Cake gives her more freedom when she says, "Jody closed me off. Ah didn't...Ah always did want tuh git round uh whole heap but Jody wouldn't 'low me tuh. When Ah wasn't at the store he wanted me tuh jes sit wid folded hands and sit dere. And Ah'd sit dere wid de walls creepin' up on me and squeezin' all de life outta me." Later in chapter 12, however, Janie also says that she wears blue because "Tea Cake love me in blue, so Ah wears it. Jody ain't never in his life picked out no color for me. De world picked out black and white for mournin'. Joe didn't. So Ah wasn't wearin' it for him. Ah was wearin' it for de rest of y'all." Therefore, Janie is not as free with Tea Cake as it first might appear and she is still being controlled by her husband.
I enjoyed much of Huston's prose, for instance in chapter seven where she describes how the passing of time and the spending of years on end with Joe have beaten Janie down as, "The years took all the fight out of Janie's face."
What freedom means is a running theme throughout the novel. In chapter 12 Janie describes being with Joe as stifling while being with Tea Cake gives her more freedom when she says, "Jody closed me off. Ah didn't...Ah always did want tuh git round uh whole heap but Jody wouldn't 'low me tuh. When Ah wasn't at the store he wanted me tuh jes sit wid folded hands and sit dere. And Ah'd sit dere wid de walls creepin' up on me and squeezin' all de life outta me." Later in chapter 12, however, Janie also says that she wears blue because "Tea Cake love me in blue, so Ah wears it. Jody ain't never in his life picked out no color for me. De world picked out black and white for mournin'. Joe didn't. So Ah wasn't wearin' it for him. Ah was wearin' it for de rest of y'all." Therefore, Janie is not as free with Tea Cake as it first might appear and she is still being controlled by her husband.
bperkins2002's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
4.75
dnandrews797's review against another edition
3.0
This book wasn’t as great as it was hyped to be for me. I enjoyed the flowery poetic way Hurston writes and the almost magical realistic way the town in the story comes about and reacts to its residents. The Hurricane was undoubtedly the most interesting part and all the circumstances that followed, though up until then I felt the story dragged a bit. Overall, an entertaining read.
dreaming_ace's review against another edition
4.0
Overall I enjoyed this story of a woman learning about herself and love. One personal challenge was reading the large parts of the story which were written in dialect. The dialect means you need to take more time to understand what you are reading.
mekeisha's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
4.5
venushaze's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
4.25
mitskacir's review against another edition
4.0
This is a book that I wish I had read in my high school English class. There is clearly a lot to dig into, from Hurston's beautiful and poetic use of language and dialect, to the metaphors and symbolism. Unfortunately, a lot of it went over my head. I would like to read this book again in a book club setting so that I can better appreciate this book. I especially liked Janie's relationship with Tea Cake - I do not quite understand how it is "romantic", as many people feel it is, but it is full of care and complexities that felt so realistic and dynamic. The scenes in the Florida muck are where the story really comes to life, and where the characters really develop to the point where you are really heartbroken by the events in the climax of the novel.
jenivere's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of the most beautiful books I've ever read. The use of language (both the dialogue and Hurston's use of metaphors) took me to another time and place. I knew very little about the book when I started reading it, and was so happy to find a strong, developing feminist character in Janie.
sidharthvardhan's review against another edition
4.0
"There are years that ask questions and years that answer."
"It was hard to love a woman that always made you feel so wishful.
Hurston wrote this novel when efforts were being made by some sections of American whites to keep African Americans down using different methods. One such method was by writing fiction that portrayed colored people as racially inferior. In response to such fiction, a second movement was started which sought to show African Americans as perfect, law abiding citizens and that included presenting Black women as something sexless (and thus fight the stereotype that Black women were lacking in 'moral discipline). Janie's second husband and her life with him seems to metaphor -ise this second movement, he was a sort of ideal citizen who brought development to his people - she wasn't happy with him
Hurston belonged to a third movement, that didn't like the perfect characters of second movement and rather wished to focus on bringing out the prevalent racism in the country. (This movement, like the novel and like so many things too good for their own times failed to gain popularity.) Hurston's characters are thus far from flawless. Both the protogonist, Janie and her final 'true love' Tea Cake (now that is some name!) are far lookist saying things like "And he stood in the door and paid all the ugly women two dollars not to come in." Then, there is another black character who has a racist bad opinion of characters of her own race, thinking they deserve their misfortunes. Janie isn't always the most feminist character, letting herself be dominated and beaten by Tea Cake. There are, moreover, some Whites who are friendly and kind to Jennie and her granny.
Hurston's argument wasn't that African Americans or women deserve their rights because they were flawless, but rather they deserve them because they are humans. And so it is simply a novel about an assertive woman in pursuit of true love. Still, the novel itself is full of feminist and anti-racist tones portrayed by the bad treatment that they received.
"Honey, de white man is de ruler of everything as fur as Ah been able tuh find out. Maybe it’s some place way off in de ocean where de black man is in power, but we don’t know nothin’ but what we see. So de white man throw down de load and tell de nigger man tuh pick it up. He pick it up because he have to, but he don’t tote it. He hand it to his womenfolks. De nigger woman is de mule uh de world so fur as Ah can see."
eamcmahon3's review against another edition
4.0
I adored this book. The writing was beautiful. Here are a few of my favorite quotes
"She had waited all her life for something, and it had killed her when it found her"
"It is so easy to be hopeful in the daytime when you can see the things you wish on. But it was night, it stayed night. Night was striding across nothingness with the whole world in his hands"
"She had waited all her life for something, and it had killed her when it found her"
"It is so easy to be hopeful in the daytime when you can see the things you wish on. But it was night, it stayed night. Night was striding across nothingness with the whole world in his hands"