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Mira Loma Today’s Book Rec of the Week (4/3)

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

“All gods who receive homage are cruel. All gods dispense suffering without reason. Otherwise they would not be worshipped. Through indiscriminate suffering men know fear and fear is the most divine emotion. It is the stones for altars and the beginning of wisdom. Half gods are worshipped in wine and flowers. Real gods require blood.”

Their Eyes Were Watching God chronicles the life of Janie Crawford, who at the start of the novel has already lived the events of the story and is now sharing everything with her dear childhood friend, Phoeby, after returning home for the first time since adolescence. 

Through an extended flashback, the reader follows Janie as she grows up and experiences both love and loss. On the surface, Hurston spins a tale of romance and finding true love, but as the story progresses, the true focus is found to lie in Janie herself. This is a story of independence and finding one’s self. It’s about learning to live first and foremost as an individual, no matter what anyone else has to say about it. It is a testimony, a blunt and arresting depiction of a Black woman embarking on a journey to find her place in the world. 

Amidst all the nuances and intricacies, Janie Crawford remains undeniably at the center of the web Hurston has weaved. It is impossible not to become invested in her long-lasting search for love and to root for her as she takes each leap of faith, from Jodie Starks to Tea Cake. 

If Janie reels you in, then Hurston’s gorgeous writing will convince you to stay. Her prose is lush and evocative, conjuring vivid imagery and eliciting tangible emotions. Under her pen, the landscape of this rural Florida town becomes its own world of thrumming life. 

Their Eyes Were Watching God unfolds in the 1930s, but its themes remain largely present and relevant today. Janie Crawford still stands out in the terrain of the twenty-first century, and for those who choose to listen, she has plenty to say.  

“The sun was gone, but he had left his footprints in the sky.”

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