As previously stated, I haven't read much for pleasure lately. Though, I was incredibly inspired by Krista's most recent post to get a serious move on it!!
However, since I do still attend a book club, and have a general feeling of guilt if I do not read the books, I manage to read at least one book every few months...February's book is "Their Eyes Were Watching God," by Zora Neale Hurston. Brief review: I know it's a classic, but I am honestly not quite sure why. (Is that horrible?!) Perhaps I am missing something-like a deeper meaning to the plot. Or a message behind all of the southern dialect. Yes, that must be it. Like Transformers, perhaps there is more to it than first meets the eye. No one character was spellbinding. No aspect of the plot was riveting. However, I did like significance of the title. While a storm was raging and darkness had fallen, the narrator stated that despite the characters' inability to see any hope in the situation, their eyes were watching God. What a good reminder that in my darkest of circumstances, my eyes must be watching God.
Do you have any insight on the significance of this novel?
3 comments:
I do, actually! I used to have my students read Hurston's essay "How it Feels to be Colored Me" and Alice Walker's essay "Looking for Zora." (You can find both online.) If not for Walker, no one today would know who Zora Neale Hurston was. She also did tremendous work as a folklorist (read "Of Mules and Men"). While it's been years since I read "Their Eyes Were Watching God," maybe a peek into her life and other works might give you something to talk about at book club.
Hey Lib! Missed you today. The book was more of a story about a woman's journey through life and how her experiences changed her. So, I don't it was meant for the plot to be riveting per se . I thought the book also did a good job giving insight into African-American life/culture at the time.
So, a month later I read this blog posting. I basically agree with Tiffany. The story is really about Janie's journey through life and steps into her own being. I actually liked the story a lot, and gained new insight from it this time around (this was my 3rd time reading it). I felt that it was particularly relevant to my life because I have a tendency to make choices that please others more than myself. I could appreciate Janie's decision to live her life to the fullest after many years of allowing other people to determine what was best for her. That's my take on it.
About the classic...I don't particularly like the "classic" books, so that may be part of the inclusion criteria for being deemed a classic.
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