As a child, the tree took on an idyllic significance for Arvay. She indulges in her fantasy that Carl Middleton will realize the mistake he has made by marrying ’Raine and will come back to her, kissing the hem of her garment as an act of contrition. This took a while to read but I actually liked it. There are a lot of interesting ideas and questions being articulated in this text. In her letters, we learn that Hurston was trying to say something about the state of marriage American society. The originality of her voice is amazing. On the other hand, if the characters were Black, the authors were seen as radical or protesters. And the story also features a child born with severe mental deficits, which is not something you get much in literature, especially not just as a by-the-by, part-of-the-daily-course-of-life thing. I even managed to get past a salutary rape [sic], but eventually, the heroine Arvay just depressed me too much. I love Zora Neal Hurston. In her letters, we learn that Hurston was trying to say something about the state of marriage American society. Those all focused on the AA experience, but in the late 1940s Hurston was struggling to get a new novel published (as well as struggling financially) so she turned her formidable talents to writing a book with white principal characters. I read this in Florida while escaping a brutal New England winter. Unusual for Hurston this tale centers on a white woman in Florida and her life from poverty in a turpentine processing village to being a well respected and fairly affluent person. A victim of her social class’s mores and values, Arvay is not a woman in charge of her own destiny. This novel follows one woman's innermost feelings and insecurities as she goes from an awkward teenager to a wife and a mother. Arvay meets her match, however, in handsome Jim Meserve, a bright, enterprising young man who knows that Arvay is the woman for him, and refuses to allow her to convince him otherwise. This is the most experimental of her novels. I haven't read much of her work and I definitely plan to remedy that. Her husband was a much more interesting character, though he haI was very curious about this because I see lots of cases of white writers writing black characters, and I thought I'd like to see how a black writer writes white characters--especially someone who's as astute an observer as ZNH. The depth of the characters, the flaws and faults- all so vivid and human. Certainly it was the one I understood least & for me it raised more questions than it answered. The novel is the story of two people, Arvay and Jim Meserve, and their life together as a married couple: children, struggles, miscommunication, etc.
Really glad I didn't; it's a masterwork. With the same passion and understanding that have made "Their Eyes Were Watching God" a classic, Hurston explores the evolution of a marriage full of love but very little communication....This is Hurston's last published novel. It is also the novel that gets the least critical attention because it does not fit comfortably within the feminist or African American literary traditions. I almost skipped this one after the extremely negative reaction I had to Moses, Man of the Mountain.
In addition, Zora was of the opinion that Blacks didn't have a unique style of language but that their language was the same as the whites and she, I believe, was trying to make this point with this novel. The fourth and final novel by African-American author, Zora Neale Hurston, is quite different from the prior three. Published in 1948, it tells the story of a poor rural white family in Florida and their complicated relationships. I still think here non-fiction is better than her fiction.Zora Neale Hurston is some kind of genius. It humorously and colloquially covers family dynamics and her internal struggle to accept the worth she has and the devotion of her family and friends.This is one of Hurston's overlooked novels, but I think it's easily her second best behind Their Eyes Were Watching God. Her plots are steady and engaging without ever being contrived. Hurston's impact on future writers is undeniable, Alice Walker the author of The Color Purple is the one who discovered anIn an effort to decolonize my reading preferences I have been undertaking novels by black authors. Those all focused on the AA experience, but in the late 1940s Hurston was struggling to get a new novel published (as well as struggling financially) so she turned her formidable talents to writing a book with white principal characters. I found it listed under her “other works” in the front of Barracoon (another good one) and found it at my library. She's dim-witted and suspicious and jealous and timorous and ... ughh. ), but the concept of the novel itself is not my issue.I am fascinated by what I know of the life and work of Zora Neale Hurston. This book served as my introduction to the literary legacy that is Zora Neale Hurston, and I think I've found a solid friend.This book served as my introduction to the literary legacy that is Zora Neale Hurston, and I think I've found a solid friend.I was very curious about this because I see lots of cases of white writers writing black characters, and I thought I'd like to see how a black writer writes white characters--especially someone who's as astute an observer as ZNH. A poignant sometimes frustrating story of marriage, love, and communication. The novel is the story of two people, Arvay and Jim Meserve, and their life together as a married couple: children, struggles, miscommunication, etc. It wasn't bad, but out of her four novels, this one was my least favorite. This is the most experimental of her novels. Reading this along with Their Eyes Were Watching God was like having the soft insistent voices inside every woman's head be voiced aloud on paper. Her plots are steady and engaging without ever being contrived.