It was eye-opening to finally read this wonderful piece of literature after having read many books by authors such as Alice Walker and Toni Morrison. I see so much of Hurston's influence in the workds of these two latter-day, African-American, female writers. I thank Hurston, therefore, not only for this revealing and touching book, but also for the perpetual influence it has left on the literary world. As we see Janie looking out into the darkness "watching God", so we also see the desire by black Americans, sepcifically women, to reveal their true nature, embrace it, and share it with a mainstream society that has taken it for granted or ignored it. The emotions in this book run deep and are extremely intense, forcing the reader to care for these people, for what they are, and see their struggles as worthy of respect.

If you read only one book this year, let it be _Their Eyes Were Watching God_. It is one of the only books I've read that I have truly and completely enjoyed. Your interest will be maintained throughout the entire book in this compelling story about the main character, Janie.

Janie's story takes place in the South just after the turn of the 20th century, and Hurston gives powerful descriptions of the race and gender relations of that era. Janie is racially mixed, and the book explores how she is consequently barred from the white world but excluded in many ways from the black world.

At the beginning of her story, Janie remarks, "Ah know exactly what Ah got to tell yuh, but it's hard to know where to start at." Hurston's charming use of dialect serves to enrich the reader's understanding of the character's culture and adds to the novel's atmosphere.

Hurston paints us a world rich with imagery and symbolism of nature, love, and life. You will not be able to resist Hurston's exquisite accounts of the world, as when she writes, "Oh to be a pear tree -_any_ tree in bloom! With kissing bees singing of the beginning of the world! [Janie] was sixteen. She had glossy leaves and bursting buds and she wanted to struggle with life but it seemed to elude her."

The most compelling aspect of the novel is the personal journey that Janie goes through. The reader will follow Janie as she embarks on her search for love, with all its disappointments and fulfillments. Janie's experiences teach her about herself and what she wants in life. Through this self-realization, she secures her identity and reaches empowerment. This book will make you cry, it will make you laugh, it will enrage you, but most importantly it will make you _think_.

Their Eyes Were Watching God written by Zora Neale Hurston was an amazing novel. At night it would be hard to put the book down. That is a sign of a good book. Written in a Southern tongue that takes a fair amount of time to get used to. It adds something fresh to the book. This novel is a classic example of well crafted American Literature. The novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, takes place in the early 1900's. The entire book is a flashback of the main characters life, leading to the present. The story is told to Janies best-friend, Phoeby. Janie tells her dear friend about her marriage and how happy life can really be for women of the time. Janies character stuck out as being adventurous and hard working. The reader grew fond of Janie because of her willingness to try new things, such as checkers and picking beans in The Muck. Every new experiance she had contributed more and more to the depth of her vast character. This novel encompassed everything that a good book needs to succede. It provides captivating romance and thrilling action. From the massive Hurricane to Janies many love interests, this book holds the attention of its readers all the way through. Throughout the whole novel Janie is trying to get across one thing to her friend, Phoeby. There are "two things everybody's got tuh do fuh theyselves. They got tuh go to God and they got tuh find out about livin' fuh theyselves." Over the course of this book Janie learns about life, love, and God. Many characters grabbed my attention in the novel, such as, Nanna, Llogan Killicks, Tea Cake, and many other characters Janie met throuhout her life. Nanna was an important character in Janies life because she taught her about life and love. Llogan was an influrential character because he drove Janie to have a want for a more complete and better life. The best scene in the book is when Janie and Tea Cake first meet. During the time period the 1900's, it was unheard of for a woman(expecially the mayors wife) to so anything fun or riskey. In this unique scene, it is the first time Janie is told she is good enough to learn something. Tea Cake is the first man to have trust in her, he teaches her how to play checkers. And she eventually falls in love.

Anthologies of Black Women Writers are wonderful because they showcase and highlight the works of well-known and un-known writers. This collection delves into the lives of women characters and offers very useful critiques and author insights. A wonderful book and a great read for those wishing to explore the depthness of women of color through literature. This book also allows you to discover what YOU like...then you can read the other works of authors like Ntozake Shange, Toni Morrison, Alexis DeVeaux, Paulette Childress White, and Sherlee Anne Williams, to name of few of my favorites. A very good book that ANYONE will enjoy!

MAry Helen Washinton chose a good variety of stories and authors for this anthology. It is well done and each piece of work has its own special meaning and moral message.

Women are the important development of any society. Their position in society makes them important in development. She says "the position in society determines the vital elements of its regeneration and progress". she also say it is a woman "who must first form the man by directing the earliest impulse of his character. It is true that it is people with particular personality and character who achieve development and progress and that it is t he woman who generally socializes the individuals into appropriate behavior. So women are important as molders of people who in turn develop societies.

Could the book move any slower? Or should I put that statement in words the author would use? " The heartbeat of the book was buried under an ever so faint pile of descriptive nonsense that tore away at the very lining of my soul and left me empty, with only remnants of an unbridled fear of a sequel to bide me..." And really, no matter how you look at it, the book is just that, descriptive nonsense. It was so hard to follow that I felt like I was reading a book that was written in French. The characters? Flat, each and every last one of them, especially that misguided Selena. There was no exploration into the motives of the characters whatsoever, for the life of me I can't understand the relationship between Selena and any of the characters, it was almost like the whole thing was a rough draft, and none of the characters and their paths were clearly established. And talk about boring! What exactly was the point in reading this? What in the heck was Paule trying to say through her novel? That Barbadians are similar to this? That this novel was somehow representative of Barbadian adolescent girls coming of age in New York? I sure hope not. I have written better things in my sleep. In the end I've read better, try The Bearnstein Bears, that is literary art at it's finest, this chick and her story can't compare.

Oh yeah, the ending... What ending?

In this book Paule Marshall blends an overly expressive and even awkward narrative with an almost incomprehensible and pretentious dialogue. Marshall wrote the dialogue of the Barbadian characters with an unrealistic slang. It used some words or phrases that had actually been used by Barbadian immigrants of the 30's and 40's, but she overused them. This and her unreadable colloquial spellings made her dialogue quite bad. The juxtapostion of her nonsensicle dialogue and her failled attempt at an elloquent narrative make this book an annoyance to read. The writing wasn't good, even though it did have it's moments, but what was even worse was the characters, every character in this book, including Selina to some degree was completely flat. Silla was bitter and underhanded, Deighton was lazy and after he joined the cult he was a souless religious fanatic. Ina was weak and Selina was independent, confused about growing up and immotionally strong. What made things worse was, none of these characters were likable at all, apart from Selina. However Selina was not likable most of the time because she seemed to be rebelling against Silla while at the same time Silla was the only reason Selina was remaining well and not dying of starvation. Besides being ingrateful to her mother she was completely unaware of what she stood for. She was a rebel without a cause (how original). In conclusion, besides having a depressing and exasperatingly slow moving plot, the book was so badly written that I couldn't wait until it was over. So, Paule Marshall, I apologize if you may have been offended by any of my statements in this review, but it is the way I feel. This book did had some good moments, but it was still not my cup of tea.

No Hard Feelings,

Andrew Nisinson

This book deals with an aspect of the African American experience which gets very little notice outside of the black community, namely that of the black immigrant. We hear a lot about immigrants from Europe who came here and helped build america. However, immigrants also came here from places like Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad, Panama, etc. Most whites will identify themselves as irish, polish, italian, german, etc ancestry. However, African Americans seem to be allowed only one ethnicity. It's as if in the darkness only one variation can be discerned. Like most immigrants, the Barbadians described in this book are highly motivated towards material success for themselves and their children. As seen in this book, sometimes this quest occurs at all costs even at the expense of outward expressions of love and affection. For example, Silla is referred to as 'the mother' throughout. As in many families, the ambitions of the parents for their children don't coincide with the children's as seen in the conflicts between Selena and her mother. Unlike white immigrants, their ambitions also run afoul of racism.

I found the narrative sometimes overly descriptive, especially in the preoccupation with sunlight and shadow. The brownstones and the streets often seemed like dark and brooding places.

My maternal grandparents were from Bardados, while my paternal grandfather was from St. Eustacia. I also grew up in Brooklyn (in a brownstone). Therefore, the landscape and the characters were very familiar. In fact, Claremont Sealy and Clive Springer are probably my cousins! A most enjoyable and thought provoking book. I look forward to reading more of Ms Marshall's book.