I read this in graduate school for a class in African American literature. It was not one of my favorites. That I gave it two stars just means it was something I barely liked. To be honest, her folklore work is more interesting to read. The novel is considered a classic, so if you want to say you have read some classic works, this is one of them. ( )

The only work by Hurston I have read is Jonah's Gourd Vine, and I hope to read more of her work soon. Jonah's Gourd Vine is so POWERFUL! I admit I alternated sympathizing with and hating the protagonist John Pearson throughout the novel, and at times I wanted to give up on him, but I am so glad that I stayed with it. Hurston uses language beautifully to convey the inner lives of her characters. I am so impressed with her work. I highly recommend this novel. ( )

I am reading these one by one so will review the individual parts here as I go along:

“Jonah’s Gourd Vine”

(25 December 2011, LibraryThing Virago Group Secret Santa gift)

Note: this is part of a volume of Collected Works (you can see in the photo: the blue book with white lines to the left of “Sun City”. I will be reading the individual novels within the volume interspersed with other books, as they are quite an intense read and I don’t want to gulp them all down too quickly)

I have to admit that, when I opened this volume, I was a little intimidated by the dialect, but I was soon wrapped up in this engrossing story of a preacher and town councillor in an all-black Florida town, and his inevitable downfall and surprising redemption. Set a generation or two after slavery has ended, and examining the effects of this on both the black and white communities, this is a universal story in many ways, of one man’s weakness and his eventual destruction by it. But the specificity is fascinating, too: it is a journey into another world that isn’t so far in time and space from our own (part of the book is set in Alabama, where I have spent a little time), in some respects, and amazingly far in others. The dialect and general use of words is powerful and affecting. A fascinating book, and it’s not even supposed to be her best one! ( )

http://faculty.mccfl.edu/jonesj/Floridiana/ZORA.html ( )

"Jonah's gourd vine", "Their eyes were watching god", "Moses, man of the mountain", "Seraph on the suwance", "Selected stories"