Their Eyes Were Watching God

"This hits equal parts “oof 😭” and “awww 🥰”. Great classic book."

"First time I read it, it was required for high school English. I left with the feeling of it being sad. Didn’t remember why until I listened to the audiobook on and off this past week. This book kind of reminds me of The Color Purple at least in the same vibes.<br/><br/>But at least Janie walked away from her first marriage and had some self love in her already. I like how she stood up for herself in that sense. Except she didn’t completely do the same thing in her second marriage. I like the fact that the main character didn’t find the love of her life right away and that she was getting up there in years until she had met Tea Cake. And she happened to be older than him which kind of gives me hope for my own life and hope age isn’t a huge factor in finding my ‘person’. Still such a good book, I keep it at"

"I don’t get it. I picked this up during the Great American Read 2018 and found it to be a slog, the dialect hard to follow. Moments in the book sang, mostly Janie’s own thoughts about love, but the plot was heavy. Janie’s role was defined by interchangeable male characters wanting to dominate and bully Janie, possibly to compensate for hard lives and poverty. I wish I liked it more."

"Started: Feb. 13 | Finished: Feb. 22 | Pages: 195"

"It stays with you, a classic "

"I’ve never read an ending that was so sad and so beautifully happy and peaceful at the same time.<br/><br/>I gasped out loud towards the end and was crying tears full of every emotion at the last page.<br/><br/>The story is written mostly in dialogue and it’s very much a slice of life type of story, but it’s also about the biggest questions there are to ask—what life is all about, what it means to learn to live through living.<br/><br/>Reading this felt like I was Janie’s friend Pheoby on that porch quietly having my close friend sharing their whole heart with me.<br/><br/>It felt like I was holding one of the most precious possessions in my hand—the intimate life story of a friend as well as an incredible piece of historical art. I’ve rarely read about or seen this time and place in history described centering the people who Zora Neale Hurston centers. This history seems to be told without any type of pretense. It was honest, fun, sad, harsh, and heartfelt.<br/><br/>I got chills in the part of the book where we read, “… their eyes were watching God.” and learn what the title of the book is all about.<br/><br/>My version of Their Eyes Were Watching God is under 200 pages. It’s amazing how much Zora Neale Hurston was able to say in so few words.<br/><br/>Beautiful and real, brief and endless. Timeless."

"Not my kind of book, but was kind of interesting at parts, although a little difficult to understand due to the language used at the time the book was written."

"So Beautiful. You need to read at least once in your lifetime."

"it was amazing and has beautiful imagery"

"The rare book that is every bit as glorious , as beautiful and as devastating as you’ve been told. Not to miss ."