Reviews with content warning for Death - Their Eyes Were Watching God

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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nmsp123's review against another edition

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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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nicolelis's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

4.25

Great book -- would've enjoyed it more if I didn't have to read it for school.

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melodyramirez's review against another edition

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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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jayisreading's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

Hurston was well ahead of her time, creating a protagonist like Janie. It’s not to say that headstrong female characters didn’t exist in the past, but I could imagine some readers at the time might have been scandalized due to Janie’s fierce independence and the time she spent with three different men, which was so unabashed, I loved it.

It was a bit difficult to get into the writing style at first, but after a few chapters, the novel became an even richer text that beautifully shared the Black South’s language and culture. In addition, there was a lot to think about in this novel, ranging from race (and, relatedly, colorism) to gender/sexuality to the legacy of slavery. All of these were inevitably tangled up with one another, which added so much detail to an already rich story.

It took way longer than it should have for me to have picked this one up, and while I didn’t completely enjoy the story in general, Hurston gave so much to the reader to contemplate. This is absolutely a book that’s worth reading closely, and I can see why it’s assigned to students so regularly in the United States.

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sshabein's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective sad 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

5.0

I am both glad that I read this as a full-on adult, so I could properly appreciate it, and that I read it via audiobook, narrated by Ruby Dee, who does an excellent job with all the different voices.

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