Rarely does one come across a book like Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. It's a love story, a tragedy, a social commentary on the plight of African Americans at the turn of the century, an anthropological study in language and culture, a historical perspective of the building of "black towns." And it's so well-written and conceived that I have not met one person who didn't love this book.
It is rare for our bookclub to unanimously love a book. There are usuallya couple of us who really love it, a couple who really hate it, one or two who tried but couldn't finish, one or two who wanted to read it but didn't for whatever reason, and then those who were indiferent. Everyone of us loved this book.
While the language can be a little difficult to master at first--being written in dialect--you get used to it after a chapter or so, and the reading of the book is very quick after that. I read it the first time in college and fell in love with Hurston as a result. This time was also a wonderful experience.
High praise from me, who doesn't always love a book, and not necessarily the second time around.
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