This is tough. Their Eyes Were Watching God is on my favorites of all time book list. Barracoon was an incredible find and I was glad it was released. This book, I would say is for the completionist who desires all of her works, but can be skipped by most readers.

It is a collection of found and rare short stories mostly written in a 1920s African American slang style of writing for the characters who speak. This makes reading it a bit of a struggle, but it flows when you pick it up. At the same time, it does seem very dated for a “new release.” Again someone looking for all her works wouldn’t mind.

Like any short story collection, some hit and some miss. I was glad I read it, but I wouldn’t grab it again. ( )

The audiobook is highly recommended. These stories are wonderful when read aloud. Read them aloud to yourself! ( )

These rediscovered stories show the talent of Hurston the author and Hurston the anthropologist. The rural stories originate from her home in Eatonville, FL, the first town successfully established by African American freedmen. She turns an eye, at times jaundiced, at times hopeful, all times so warmly expressed and laugh-out-loud hilarious, to domestic situations primarily ruled by abusive husbands. The city stories are from Harlem, and it's almost like another woman has taken over Hurston’s pen via biblical recitations of similar domestic strife, with these created by country men who seek to take advantage of the vastness of the sophisticated female population. I prefer the tales from Eatonville, but all are enjoyable and filled with wisdom and charm.

Quotes:
"Ah got to shave Gran'ma."
"Who say so?", Joel asked, surprised.
"Nobody doan hafta tell me. Look at her chin. No ladies don't weah no whiskers if they kin help it."

"Brazzle's yellow mule, his Yaller Highness, was always mentioned before the weather, the misery of the back or leg, or the hard times."

"Joe Clarke's store porch was full of chewing men. Some chewed tobacco, some chewed cane, some chewed straws, for the villager is a ruminant in his leisure." ( )

This was my second read by Zora Neale Hurston. I read Barracoon and enjoyed reading that novel, which felt more like an anthology. My book group AAABDG picked Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick for discussion. I listened to the audiobook version read by Aunjanue Ellis, which I highly recommend, because she does a wonderful narration in differentiating the characters. First and distinguishable is the eye catching colorful artwork on the cover. The introduction by Genevieve West was long, detailed and informative, but I was anxious to get to the stories. A beautiful forward by Tayari Jones (another great author). This is a book that requires you to take your time reading to understand the dialect of the time and to follow the changes in her writing styles that progressed and grew as written in chronological order.

Written in the 1920s and most of the stories took place in Eatonville, Florida and Harlem with colorful characters like Muttsy, Bluefoot, Spunk and Pinkie. I didn't love all of the twenty one stories, but I favored a few. "John Redding Goes to Sea" was depicting men v women and the desire to venture other places was heartbreaking. "The Conversion of Sam" depicts class and race division that tugs at your emotions. "Sweat" entails domestic abuse and infidelity, it was gut wrenching. "Under The Bridge," a sad but tender tale of love between a father, wife and son. "The Country in the Woman" brings Cal'line and Mitchell Potts to revisit with a hilarious outcome to the story, which should have been part ll to the previous story in The Eatonville Anthology titled "Pants and Cal'line." The final favorite was "The Gilded Six-Bits” that addressed infidelity and greed, but love triumphed.

"The Eatonville Anthology" were snippets of various stories and felt incomplete, but interesting just the same. The re-mention of Sykes Jones, in "Tippy" and womanizing Joe Clarke in "Coon Taylor,"and "The Head of the Nail," Brazzle in "Village Fiction" are characters from previous stories, which brought me familiarity. "Possum or Pig?" was the shortest story in the book (2 pages), but was humorous. Cal'line with her axe once again makes an appearance in "She Rock." I was not fond of the stories that were written in bible verses.

Overall, I enjoyed the read with its southern drawl vernacular, skillful use of idioms, class, gender, sexism, folklore and identity. Hurston explored the African American culture in these stories, as well as adultery and infidelity in a marriage. I'm proud to include this book into my collection. ( )

https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3741085.html

Collection of the short stories written by Hurston in the 1920s and 1930s, all about the contemporary experience of black Americans, mostly set either in Harlem or in Eatonville, Florida, her home town. Several of these stories were unpublished in her lifetime, perhaps intentionally so; they are good honest reportage of her people's life, some better than others. There's a lot of marital infidelity, a lot of smart children; they all worked well enough for me apart from the biblical pastiches which are anyway mercifully short. Published only last year. ( )