Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Incomparable Zora Neale Hurston, January 1, 2003
Wrapped In Rainbows is the biography of literary giant, Zora Neale Hurston and
chronicles her life from early childhood to her death in 1960. Valerie Boyd
does an excellent job with her subject and her extensive research is apparent.Boyd paints a wonderful picture of Zora as a free spirit who has two loves,
writing and black folklore. Zora's years of researching the folk history of
black people is depicted as well as her burning desire to merge her two loves.
Animated and full of spunk, Zora's story is told through the eyes of people who
knew her and the back drop of American history. The Harlem Renaissance is also featured in glorious detail interspersing Zora's
friendships and kinship with many of the writers and artists of that era and
with the white patrons of black art and literature. Zora loved Harlem and in
some of the descriptions in the book, the reader can almost see Zora strolling
the streets of "Harlem City" as she affectionately called it. Fans of Zora Neale Hurston will thoroughly enjoy this account of her life and
those who are unfamiliar with her will long to read her work. Wrapped In
Rainbows is beautiful tribute to an awesome talent. Reviewed by: Diane Marbury (HonestD)
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I Cried When It Ended, January 31, 2003
By A Customer
Valerie Boyd has written an incredible biography of an amazing life. Before reading Wrapped in Rainbows, I considered myself pretty knowledgeable about Zora Neale Hurston. I had read Hurston's autobiography, Robert Hemenway's biography, several of Hurston's books, and various articles about her work. However, Boyd's book gave me a deeper understanding of Hurston than I would have thought possible. Boyd's meticulous research and insightful analysis bring the places and times of Hurston's life into detailed focus. This gives a rich backdrop to the events of Hurston's life and helps clarify her actions. This is the job of any good biographer. What makes Boyd a great biographer is her ability to get inside Hurston's skin so that the reader experiences the complexities of her great life. Many people view Hurston's life as tragic. She was a wonderful writer and champion of the "folk," yet she died in poverty--with all of her books out of print--and was buried in an unmarked grave. Boyd skillfully takes us on the journey of Hurston's life--through her successes and failures, her accolades and obscurity, her dreams and realities. I felt the passion and conviction and courage Hurston must have called on to accomplish what she did despite the challenges she faced. When I finished the book, I cried--not because Hurston's life was tragic, but because of the wonder of the Wrapped in Rainbows experience. Boyd's poetic writing was a joy to read. The beauty of her writing was breathtaking at times. Perhaps more significantly, through it, I identified with Hurston more than I ever had before and felt the supreme contentment of a life well lived.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Did Not Want the Book to End, January 28, 2003
Turning the last page of Valerie Boyd's riveting bio-novel was like saying goodbye to a close friend; you know the time is spent but you wish there were just one more day. As I mentally re-wind the Zora tape to examine the data-laden pages, I recall how many times I had the recurring thought mid-sentence, "I never knew that before." The serendipity in discovery of never-before-published information was like a curtain continually opening and closing, each movement creating more anticipation than the one before. A tireless collector of biography, there have been times when I have found turning the last page to seem as far away as Christmas when I was a child. That Valerie Boyd kept the story's edge speaks to just that--she sculpted a story, a true story. And in her artist hand ample language and enviable metaphorical lacing together of fact and feeling grabbed imagination already primed by exquisite descriptive characterizations of Zora and her Zen. Reviewers before me have said that Wrapped in Rainbows "reads like a novel." It does that and more. Wrapped in Rainbows reads like a virtual visit to Eatonville, New York and Fort Pierce with all of the exotic excursions in between. Our gifted tour guide spared neither journalistic nuance nor verbal luxury as she deftly crafted the never-before-travelled itinerary. Finally, for some of us telling the unlacquered truth propels our pen to caustic betrayals or veiled assertions. Every writer can learn from Valerie Boyd's capacity for authenticity without condecension and forthrightness sans pomposity. After experiencing Wrapped in Rainbows in the author-audience venue, I better understood why: Valerie Boyd's six-year dedication to the formidible task of research and writing the biography of this extravagantly endowed word masseuse and cultural connoisseur reveals what is most important: Valerie Boyd has a passion for the life and works of Zora Neale Hurston. So will you after reading the book you won't want to end.
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