Zora Neale Hurston : Novels and Stories : Jonah's Gourd Vine / Their Eyes Were Watching God / Moses, Man of the Mountain / Seraph on the Suwanee / Selected Stories (Library of America) [Hardcover]

Zora Neale Hurston (Author), Cheryl A. Wall (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Library of America | Publication Date: February 1, 1995

When she died in obscurity in 1960, all her books were out of print. Now, Zora Neale Hurston is recognized as one of the most important and influential modern American writers. This volume, with its companion, "Zora Neale Hurston: Folklore, Memoirs, and Other Writings," brings together for the first time all of Hurston's best works in one authoritative set. It features the acclaimed 1937 novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God," a lyrical masterpiece about a woman's struggle for love and independence. "Jonah's Gourd Vine," based on the story of Hurston's parents, details the rise and fall of a preacher torn between spirit and flesh. "Moses, Man of the Mountain" is a high-spirited retelling of the Exodus story in black vernacular. "Seraph on the Suwanee" portrays the passionate clash between a poor southern "cracker" and her willful husband. A selection of short stories further displays Hurston's unique fusion of folk traditions and literary modernism--comic, ironic, and soaringly poetic.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This two-volume set brings together for the first time all of Hurston's best works: four novels, two books of folklore, and the first complete edition of her famous autobiography, Dust Tracks on a Road.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Hurston flowered under the warming sun of the Harlem Renaissance, the black arts' explosion centered in Harlem in the 1920s and 1930s. After years of neglect, she died a forgotten figure, but her reputation blossomed anew in the late 1970s. Hurston's permanent place in the canon of U.S. literature is now assured, for her second novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937), is considered a classic and is taught in the college classroom. The estimable Library of America series draws together between the covers of one volume all four of her novels and a goodly selection of her short stories. That she was mother to the likes of Alice Walker and Toni Morrison is tangible. It's obvious they learned from Hurston's use of black folklore as the mat{‚}eriel of her fiction and admire her richly soaring language, which is derived from black dialect. Her novels and stories--the latter a form she didn't use as effectively--relate the loves and woes of black and white people from in and around the southern communities she knew so well; one novel, Moses, Man of the Mountain (1939), has a biblical setting, and it's still an enrapturing interpretation of a story told many times before. Libraries without a complete set of Hurston's fiction will find this volume a necessary and easy purchase to fill that unfortunate gap. Brad Hooper

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 1054 pages
• Publisher: Library of America; First Edition edition (February 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0940450836
• ISBN-13: 978-0940450837
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #116,860 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspired, February 19, 2006

By 

jkibler (Maybinton, South Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zora Neale Hurston : Novels and Stories : Jonah's Gourd Vine / Their Eyes Were Watching God / Moses, Man of the Mountain / Seraph on the Suwanee / Selected Stories (Library of America) (Hardcover)

If Ms Hurston finally gets the readers she deserves, she will take her place among America's finest writers of the 20th Century. She is a joy to read and repays second and third perusals. The oral narrative quality of her writing places her squarely in the company of the best of her Southern contemporaries. She shares their great gifts. By all means, don't deny yourself the pleasure of reading her work.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superlative Author, August 17, 2009

By 

Art "Wise Owl" (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zora Neale Hurston : Novels and Stories : Jonah's Gourd Vine / Their Eyes Were Watching God / Moses, Man of the Mountain / Seraph on the Suwanee / Selected Stories (Library of America) (Hardcover)

Zora Neale Hurston is, without a doubt, one of the giants of literature of the last century. Capturing the heart and soul of the deep South--both "colored" and "white"--her works breathe life into the characters she portrays, leaving readers with the "slice of life" they are seeking from an outstanding writer of the period. Now, for the first time, this volume serves the reader the whole pie.

Whether Hurston studied the practice of Voodoo in the Caribbean, the folkways of African-Americans in the Old South, or the interrelationships of the races in the society of her time (especially in the trial of Ruby McCollum, which she covered for the Pittsburgh Courier), she tackled her subject with a degree of enthusiasm that is seldom matched.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Bee and the Blossom, January 21, 2010

By 

K. Houglum - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Zora Neale Hurston : Novels and Stories : Jonah's Gourd Vine / Their Eyes Were Watching God / Moses, Man of the Mountain / Seraph on the Suwanee / Selected Stories (Library of America) (Hardcover)

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston is a bittersweet novel that emphasizes the relationship between nature and human life. The protagonist, Janie Mae Crawford, begins the novel by returning to Eatonville, a small town where all her thoughts and emotions were once considered worthless. She is reunited with her closest friend, Phoebe Watson, and relates to her the story of why she suddenly disappeared years ago. Through this unfolding of Janie's intriguing yet depressing life story, the reader is able to witness how society can corrupt the harmony of nature and also the joy of human life.
Before Janie moved to Eatonville, an all black town, she lived with her Nanny. At sixteen, Janie was already imagining what marriage was like. She would sit underneath her blossomed pear tree and witness a bee singing calmly while getting nectar out of each flower. She longed to be loved and cared for like the blossom, but she did not know where or how to find her singing bee. Her Nanny grew worried that her young granddaughter would be taken advantage of by men; so therefore, Janie's marriage was arranged.
Zora Neale Hurston uses symbolism throughout her novel to allow the reader to discover her message. She uses the bee and the blossom to emphasize the harmony and unity that should exist in not only marriage but in life. Hurston travels through many marriages and downfalls of Janie's life, but accentuates her persistence and strength to find her independence and joy.
Written in only seven weeks, this romantic classic has the ability to give the reader insight of how a woman, like Janie, lived in a society where men were considered dominate. The setting of this book takes place in the past where women were viewed as frail - lacking in both opinion and power. Hurston portrays that women deserve independence and respect through Janie, the female hero. In addition, the style of the novel is written as a frame story, creating parallels to the traditions of black culture. The custom of oral tradition is shown in the beginning of this novel when Janie begins to explain to Phoebe her story, "You can tell `em what Ah say if you wants to. Dat's just de same as me `cause mah tongue is in mah friend's mouf." This style of writing not only captures the reader into vivid imagination and strong emotions, but also indirectly enlightens the reader about the culture of a small African American society.
Their Eyes Were Watching God is a book that emphasizes love, joy, and adventure. Although it may not interest many men, for it is more of a feminist novel, women would be more inclined to relate and sympathize with Janie's story. This book encourages the reader not to become trapped in society's expectations but to become independent and to pursue his or her own aspirations.