Book Review: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Their Eyes Were Watching God was published in 1937, penned by renowned author Zora Neale Hurston. We follow the story of Janie, a young African American woman who breaks all chains of tradition by refusing to marry the man her family had selected for her, and setting off to make her own life. She goes on to help found a new town with the husband of her choice. But when power gets to her husband’s head and their relationship no longer works, she does something unheard of for a woman of color in that time: she leaves. A tragic love story, well ahead of its time in depicting a woman’s journey to freedom and self-actualization, despite the restrictions upon her race and gender.