Their Eyes Were Watching God
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Their Eyes Were Watching God
Buy Now for $21.99
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Narrated by:
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Ruby Dee
About this listen
“A deeply soulful novel that comprehends love and cruelty, and separates the big people from the small of heart, without ever losing sympathy for those unfortunates who don’t know how to live properly.” —Zadie Smith
One of the most important and enduring books of the twentieth century, Their Eyes Were Watching God brings to life a Southern love story with the wit and pathos found only in the writing of Zora Neale Hurston. Out of print for almost thirty years—due largely to initial audiences’ rejection of its strong black female protagonist—Hurston’s classic has since its 1978 reissue become perhaps the most widely read and highly acclaimed novel in the canon of African-American literature. The audio is performed by the legendary Ruby Dee.
©1937 Zora Neale Hurston, Renewed 1965 John C. Hurston and Joel Hurston; (P)1997, 2000, 2004 HarperCollins PublishersBeautiful observed
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Unfortunately the performance doesn't match the delicate and patient work of Zora Neale Hurston in telling Janie's story.
It's disappointing the narrator chose to perform most of the female characters in a kind of simpering, childish voice, which especially undermines the impact of Janie. It's hard to get past.
Secondly, even the slightest hint of elevated emotion on page is turned into Shakespearean drama, most of the time employing vocal fry techniques to deliver a 'shaky' emotional voice, that are way too harsh for the task - the effect is jarring, and the subtle workings of the author become a kind of audio pantomime.
There is an entire section during one of the narrative climaxes where the performance is so over-the-top, in terms of both volume and intensity, that it becomes comical, in a profoundly uncomfortable way.
An audiobook is not a radio play, the performance should blend into the story, and, in a way, disappear into it. The opposite happens here.
Wonderful book, but the performance is challenging
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