Zora Neale Hurston's now-classic novel about Janie Crawford, the granddaughter of an ex-slave, and her three husbands: Mr. Killicks, Mayor Starks and, finally, Tea Cake--the love of her life. The novel is set in a black community in rural Florida, and the characters speak in dialect--a technique that inspired both anger and praise from other black writers. Their Eyes Were Watching God, first published in 1937, is a landmark novel of the black experience in America and also, because of Janey's stubborn insistence on her independence, of feminism.

I had to read this book for an American Lit class I took when I was in university and had completely forgotten about it until I found it at the back of one of my dusty bookshelves yesterday.

I can't really remember whether I liked it or not, just that at the time my English wasn't so good and I had a hard time understanding some of the dialect used in the book...

I see it's on a few wishlists so I've picked out a "victim" and will send it as a surprise RABCK

Sent today to an unexpecting BookCrosser somewhere in the North of Europe...

Wow! This was a complete surprise - thanks so much, chich. What a completely lovely thing to do, it has really made my day. And, the bookmark is great, plus it's good to see an official BookCrossing postcard.

I'll read this just as soon as I've finished my current book.

THANK YOU!

I found this book really interesting. It took me a while to get the feel for the dialect (I did find it quite difficult; it never quite flowed for me). But, I thought it worked well that some of the story was told in the characters' voices - and the formal narrative voice provided a good contrast.

I was a little uncomfortable about some elements (for example, domestic violence is presented uncritically) but had to keep reminding myself how long ago this book was written and how groundbreaking it was. It was published in 1937 and has a black, female main character - Janie - whose story is told in celebratory detail.

Janie's life is in some ways very constrained: the options available to her are limited and most of her life is controlled by someone else, first her grandmother and then her three husbands. The book focuses on these constraints, i.e. those that come from within the black community, only touching lightly on the wider oppression of the black community by whites. In this way we get a very everyday, almost apolitical, feel for Janie's world and her personal development. It is a journey of self discovery and contains all the contradictions and complexity of Janie's inner life.

I haven't yet decided on the next home for this book, but will either pass it on as a RABCK or start up a bookray. Thanks, chich, for sharing it.

This is going to travel all the way to Brazil as a RABCK to another bookcrosser who had it on their wishlist (although it's not a surprise this time - I had to PM to get an address). I'll post it off on Monday using surface mail, so it may take a while...

Happy reading, Tuz.

It looks as if this has got lost in the post. I PMed Tuz a while ago and haven't heard anything back, but it really shouldn't have taken this long to get from the UK to Brazil. I hope it turns up somewhere, sometime. If it does: hello! Welcome to bookcrossing - I hope you enjoy the book. It'd be lovely if you could make a journal entry and let us know where it's got to.

This book has washed ashore at the Lost Book Island after not being heard from for many months. This new arrival will be shown to a room and be allowed a bit of rest before being introduced to the many fun things to do here at the island.

All around there are books sipping cool drinks under shady palms while other books participate in a wide variety of beach sports. There is plenty of sand, surf and sun here for all of the lost and wayward books to enjoy.

It is hoped that very soon a new journal entry will come to rescue this book from the island and send it back out into the BookCrossing world so that it may continue on its journey. It is hoped that the new journal entry will tell all the interested parties where this book has been this long time and where it will be traveling to next.

What an amazing story! This is truly a classic :)

I offered this book as RABCK to many people expecting one reply only! Since there were many, I decided to organize a bookray. This list is one suggestion (everybody's in the US):

1.ciloma
2.2of3Rs
3.eressea
4.Elsiah
5.nynjagrrrl

How does a bookray work? I'll send the book to ciloma. After she's finished, she'll mail it to smilingheron. This will continue until the book reaches nynjagrrrl, who will decide what to do with it.

Thanks for participating! :)

This one came in the mail today. Thanx Tuz!

Quite the story. I had a bit of trouble with the dialect. I found myself reading passages out-loud so I could figure out what was being said. I have PM'd the next reader for mailing info.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

On it's way to 2of3Rs

received as next in the ring...I am finishing up one other book, then I'm on to this one. Thanks, Tuz, for starting the ring! I also love this cover better than the newer cover...this one has blues and greens and purples. Thanks!

It took me a while to get into the rhythm of the writing...the dialect/vernacular slowed me down a bit. Hurston's prose at times is utterly stunning, many times I was stopped by the brilliance of a passage. or a sentence. I'm so glad I read this. Thanks again, Tuz, for starting the ring.

I've contacted the next person in the ring, and will send it off soon!

Will read as soon as possible, hopefully this weekend in between studying for finals.

I loved the book. As someone mentioned earlier, how frivolously the domestic abuse was mentioned and how accepted it was, really bothered me. Yet, this book was written in a different time, and at least we are bothered by it nowadays instead of being so accepting.

Otherwise, it was really interesting and I found myself reading it quickly. I didn't have any trouble with the dialect and found myself really caring for some of these characters. It also made me think about marriage and love quite a bit. I loved how she had the relationships portrayed.

Just received this in the mail today! I'm almost done with another book, so I'll start this one soon.

I had almost no trouble with the dialect, and I feel that it allowed the characters to express themselves in their own individual voices.

I, too, was blown away by Hurston's prose style. There were several passages that I had to write down so that I could reread them after sending the book on its way. A very engrossing read.

(I've PM'd the next person in line for this book.)

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Sent this on its way to nynjagrrrl this morning.

This book came in the mail yesterday. Thanks for sending it, I will start reading it soon.