Wiener,
Gary. Women’s
Issues in Zora Neale Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God.” Cengage/Greenhaven 2012 199p $28.45 978-0-7377-6627-1 series: Social
Issues in Literature hs VG-BNS
In this book, Zora Neale Hurston’s
novel Their Eyes Were Watching God is analysed from a sociological
perspective by a variety of knowledgeable authors. The book is divided into three sections: the
first one deals with Hurston as a person and a literary figure, the second with
women’s issues that are raised in the novel, and the third with women’s issues
in general, as viewed from a contemporary perspective. The variety of voices is impressive, and the
articles are brief but cogently written.
In addition to the 18 essays, there is an introduction (which must be written
by Gary Wiener, the book editor, although no attribution is given), a list of
discussion questions for the novel, a bibliography, a list of books for further
reading, and an index. The book will
certainly appeal to students who are studying Hurston’s work, and those who
teach them. The length of the book and
the layout of its pages will appeal to high-school or college students studying
Hurston.
The Social Issues in Literature
series examines works of literature from the perspective of sociological
issues, like racism, class, colonialism, poverty and women’s studies.
Zora Neale Hurston --Carol Kennedy
