4 member(s) found this review helpful.
This book is one of the very best books that I have ever read. I first read it in high school. I still pick it up again every now and then just to read my favorite parts. If you saw the movie and didn't read the book - READ THE BOOK! The movie did not do this book justice at all. Hurston's writing is so poetic, so symbolic . . . A truly careful reader will savor every word of this wonderful masterpiece.

Jeannie C. (
yogagirl) wrote on 6/22/2007...
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
Powerful prose from a fantastic writer. I never bothered to see the movie because her descriptions created a vivid painting in my mind that no director could recreate. Historically, it's an important book, as well as a wonderful read.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
I tried very hard, but couldn't get into this book. I'm sure it's wonderful, but it's one of those books you have to sit down with and make an effort to read and I guess I'm not in the mood to make that effort.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
A wonderful stoey with heartwarming natural wisdoms. Loved this book!
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
I love this book! I have read it several times over the past 15 years -- I keep coming back to it. The characters are compelling -- you begin to care about Janie and what happens to her very early on. Even my Dad couldn't put it down, and he is not a reader! He picked it up on a weekend visit, and I had to send it home with him!
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
good story - basis for Oprah Winfrey Tv movie enjoyed it and it moves quickly -great look at culture in the South
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
One of the best books I have read; I have gotten a hold of this books some years ago; I believe it was someone else's, and I got to the point where she was about to marry the first husband, and for years, I had to find out what happened to this woman, and somehow, I got my hands on a copy of the book and read it through; You cannot help but want the book for yourself; It's a bit hard due to the dialect, but you can relate to Janie's struggle to be herself; I watched the movie and enjoyed it; And had to put a review here for this book; HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I thought this was a wonderful novel. It was full of joy, humor, sorrow, and all the emotions in between. I really enjoyed Hurston's writing and her use of African-American dialect. This reminded me a lot of Mark Twain's writing. She alternated the conversational dialect with eloquent prose to describe the events in the novel - a really great piece of literature! When this novel was first published in 1937, it received a lot of critism especially from Richard Wright (another African-American writer) who "excoriated Their Eyes as a novel that did for literature what the minstrel shows did for the theater, that is, make white folks laugh... The novel exploited those quaint aspects of Negro life that satisfied the tastes of a white audience..." However, this novel has come to be proclaimed as one of the finest black novels of all time. It is studied today in many college literature courses.
I also saw the TV adaptation of this novel starring Halle Berry when it came out a few years ago. I don't remember much of the details but do remember enjoying it.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
This book is interesting as it was written in 1937 and was one of the first books written by an African American portraying African American life. It's characters move the action and they are not victims - but capable of creating the lives they want. The written speech of the characters make it a little difficult to read, but you care about the characters and what happens to them. A strong, female lead character makes the book worthwhile.

Auliya B. (
auliya) wrote on 9/5/2005...
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
"The prototypical Black novel of affirmation: it is the most successful, convincing, and exemplary novel of Blacklove that we have. Period." --June Jordan, Black World