Their Eyes Were Watching God

I loved Jonah's Gourd Vine -- thought some of her short stories very fine -- and feel that this measures up to the promise of the early books. Authentic picture of Negroes, not in relation to white people but to each other. An ageing grandmother marries off her granddaughter almost a child to a middle-aged man for security -- and she leaves him when she finds that her dreams are dying, and goes off with a dapper young Negro, full of his own sense of power and go-getter qualities. He takes her to a mushroom town, buys a lot, puts up a store and makes the town sit up and take notice. His success goes to his head -- their life becomes a mockery of her high hopes. And after his death, she goes off with a youth who brings her happiness and tragedy. A poignant story, told with almost rhythmic beauty.

Note from Kirkus' Vintage Review Editor: Zora Neale Hurston is now thought of as a pioneering writer and folklorist, but in 1937, when Kirkus reviewed her now-classic Their Eyes Were Watching God, she was a writer becoming known for revealing a corner of the world no one but she could've revealed. — June 24, 2013