
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $24.29
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Ruby Dee
About this listen
This poetic, graceful love story, rooted in Black folk traditions and steeped in mythic realism, celebrates boldly and brilliantly African-American culture and heritage. And in a powerful, mesmerizing narrative, it pays quiet tribute to a Black woman who, though constricted by the times, still demanded to be heard.
Originally published in 1937 and long out of print, the book was reissued in 1975 and nearly three decades later Their Eyes Were Watching God is considered a seminal novel in American fiction.
©1937 Zora Neale Hurston, Renewed 1965 John C. Hurston and Joel Hurston (P)1997, 2000, 2004 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
-
Beloved
- By: Toni Morrison
- Narrated by: Toni Morrison
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sethe was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. Sethe has too many memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened. And Sethe’s new home is haunted by the ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved.
-
-
Author-read Books
- By John R Williford on 07-14-06
By: Toni Morrison
-
Barracoon
- The Story of the Last ""Black Cargo""
- By: Zora Neale Hurston
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 3 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1927, Zora Neale Hurston went to Plateau, Alabama, just outside Mobile, to interview 86-year-old Cudjo Lewis. Of the millions of men, women, and children transported from Africa to America as slaves, Cudjo was then the only person alive to tell the story of this integral part of the nation's history. Hurston was there to record Cudjo's firsthand account of the raid that led to his capture and bondage 50 years after the Atlantic slave trade was outlawed in the United States. In 1931, Hurston returned to Plateau, the African-centric community three miles from Mobile.
-
-
skip the introduction!
- By Earin on 10-16-18
-
The Bluest Eye
- By: Toni Morrison
- Narrated by: Toni Morrison
- Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is the story of 11-year-old Pecola Breedlove--a black girl in an America whose love for its blond, blue-eyed children can devastate all others--who prays for her eyes to turn blue: so that she will be beautiful, so that people will look at her, so that her world will be different. This is the story of the nightmare at the heart of her yearning and the tragedy of its fulfillment.
-
-
Amazing
- By psiegler on 07-25-18
By: Toni Morrison
-
Mules and Men
- By: Zora Neale Hurston
- Narrated by: Ruby Dee
- Length: 2 hrs and 57 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Mules and Men, some of the rich cultural heritage of black America is revealed and preserved. In the 1930s, Zora Neale Hurston returned to her home town of Eatonville, Florida, to collect and record the oral histories, songs, and sermons, many dating back to slavery times, that she remembered hearing as a child. These highly metaphorical folktales, "big old lies", and powerful songs helped her to recover her history, and preserve an important part of American culture.
-
-
ABRIDGED version
- By Ben on 02-06-19
-
Invisible Man
- A Novel
- By: Ralph Ellison
- Narrated by: Joe Morton
- Length: 18 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ralph Elllison's Invisible Man is a monumental novel, one that can well be called an epic of modern American Negro life. It is a strange story, in which many extraordinary things happen, some of them shocking and brutal, some of them pitiful and touching—yet always with elements of comedy and irony and burlesque that appear in unexpected places. It is a book that has a great deal to say and which is destined to have a great deal said about it.
-
-
How Did This Escape Me?
- By E. Pearson on 11-23-11
By: Ralph Ellison
-
The Color Purple
- By: Alice Walker
- Narrated by: Alice Walker
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Celie has grown up poor in rural Georgia, despised by society and abused by her own family. She strives to protect her sister, Nettie, from a similar fate, and while Nettie escapes to a new life as a missionary in Africa, Celie is left behind without her best friend and confidante, married off to an older suitor, and sentenced to a life alone with a harsh and brutal husband. In an attempt to transcend a life that often seems too much to bear, Celie begins writing letters to God. The letters, spanning 20 years, record a journey of self-discovery and empowerment guided by the light of a few strong women.
-
-
way better than the movie
- By Ms. Blacq on 10-13-19
By: Alice Walker
-
Beloved
- By: Toni Morrison
- Narrated by: Toni Morrison
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sethe was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. Sethe has too many memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened. And Sethe’s new home is haunted by the ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved.
-
-
Author-read Books
- By John R Williford on 07-14-06
By: Toni Morrison
-
Barracoon
- The Story of the Last ""Black Cargo""
- By: Zora Neale Hurston
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 3 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1927, Zora Neale Hurston went to Plateau, Alabama, just outside Mobile, to interview 86-year-old Cudjo Lewis. Of the millions of men, women, and children transported from Africa to America as slaves, Cudjo was then the only person alive to tell the story of this integral part of the nation's history. Hurston was there to record Cudjo's firsthand account of the raid that led to his capture and bondage 50 years after the Atlantic slave trade was outlawed in the United States. In 1931, Hurston returned to Plateau, the African-centric community three miles from Mobile.
-
-
skip the introduction!
- By Earin on 10-16-18
-
The Bluest Eye
- By: Toni Morrison
- Narrated by: Toni Morrison
- Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is the story of 11-year-old Pecola Breedlove--a black girl in an America whose love for its blond, blue-eyed children can devastate all others--who prays for her eyes to turn blue: so that she will be beautiful, so that people will look at her, so that her world will be different. This is the story of the nightmare at the heart of her yearning and the tragedy of its fulfillment.
-
-
Amazing
- By psiegler on 07-25-18
By: Toni Morrison
-
Mules and Men
- By: Zora Neale Hurston
- Narrated by: Ruby Dee
- Length: 2 hrs and 57 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Mules and Men, some of the rich cultural heritage of black America is revealed and preserved. In the 1930s, Zora Neale Hurston returned to her home town of Eatonville, Florida, to collect and record the oral histories, songs, and sermons, many dating back to slavery times, that she remembered hearing as a child. These highly metaphorical folktales, "big old lies", and powerful songs helped her to recover her history, and preserve an important part of American culture.
-
-
ABRIDGED version
- By Ben on 02-06-19
-
Invisible Man
- A Novel
- By: Ralph Ellison
- Narrated by: Joe Morton
- Length: 18 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ralph Elllison's Invisible Man is a monumental novel, one that can well be called an epic of modern American Negro life. It is a strange story, in which many extraordinary things happen, some of them shocking and brutal, some of them pitiful and touching—yet always with elements of comedy and irony and burlesque that appear in unexpected places. It is a book that has a great deal to say and which is destined to have a great deal said about it.
-
-
How Did This Escape Me?
- By E. Pearson on 11-23-11
By: Ralph Ellison
-
The Color Purple
- By: Alice Walker
- Narrated by: Alice Walker
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Celie has grown up poor in rural Georgia, despised by society and abused by her own family. She strives to protect her sister, Nettie, from a similar fate, and while Nettie escapes to a new life as a missionary in Africa, Celie is left behind without her best friend and confidante, married off to an older suitor, and sentenced to a life alone with a harsh and brutal husband. In an attempt to transcend a life that often seems too much to bear, Celie begins writing letters to God. The letters, spanning 20 years, record a journey of self-discovery and empowerment guided by the light of a few strong women.
-
-
way better than the movie
- By Ms. Blacq on 10-13-19
By: Alice Walker
-
Dust Tracks on a Road
- An Autobiography
- By: Zora Neale Hurston
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dust Tracks on a Road is the bold, poignant, and funny autobiography of novelist, folklorist, and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston, one of American literature's most compelling and influential authors. Hurston's powerful novels of the South - including Jonah's Gourd Vine and, most famously, Their Eyes Were Watching God - continue to enthrall readers with their lyrical grace, sharp detail, and captivating emotionality.
-
-
Very nice!
- By Joi Wilson on 10-31-16
-
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
- By: Maya Angelou
- Narrated by: Maya Angelou
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and her brother, Bailey, endure the ache of abandonment and the prejudice of the local “powhitetrash.” At eight years old, Maya is attacked by a man many times her age - and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime. But years later, she learns about love for herself and the kindness of others, her own strong spirit, and the ideas of great authors.
-
-
Emotional & Powerful
- By Miss Toni on 06-30-13
By: Maya Angelou
-
You Don’t Know Us Negroes and Other Essays
- By: Zora Neale Hurston, Henry Louis Gates - introduction, Genevieve West - introduction
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 15 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
You Don’t Know Us Negroes is the quintessential gathering of provocative essays from one of the world’s most celebrated writers, Zora Neale Hurston. Spanning more than three decades and penned during the backdrop of the birth of the Harlem Renaissance, Montgomery bus boycott, desegregation of the military, and school integration, Hurston’s writing articulates the beauty and authenticity of Black life as only she could. Collectively, these essays showcase the roles enslavement and Jim Crow have played in intensifying Black people’s inner lives and culture rather than destroying it.
-
-
Robotic Reading
- By lacy stevens on 09-02-22
By: Zora Neale Hurston, and others
-
Every Tongue Got to Confess
- By: Zora Neale Hurston
- Narrated by: Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis
- Length: 6 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Every Tongue Got to Confess is an extensive volume of African American folklore that Zora Neale Hurston collected on her travels through the Gulf States in the late 1920s. The bittersweet and often hilarious tale, which range from longer narratives about God, the Devil, white folk, and mistaken identity to witty one-liners, reveal attitudes about faith, love, family, slavery, race, and community.
-
-
Difficult to hear so I can't rate Story fairly
- By d on 02-18-15
-
Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick
- Stories from the Harlem Renaissance
- By: Zora Neale Hurston
- Narrated by: Aunjanue Ellis
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick is an outstanding collection of stories about love and migration, gender and class, racism and sexism that proudly reflect African-American folk culture. Brought together for the first time in one volume, they include eight of Hurston’s "lost" Harlem stories, which were found in forgotten periodicals and archives. These stories challenge conceptions of Hurston as an author of rural fiction and include gems that flash with her biting, satiric humor, as well as more serious tales.
-
-
Great Writer - Great Reader
- By Avid Listener on 09-09-20
-
To Kill a Mockingbird
- By: Harper Lee
- Narrated by: Sissy Spacek
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Harper Lee’s Pulitzer prize-winning masterwork of honor and injustice in the deep south - and the heroism of one man in the face of blind and violent hatred, available now for the first time as a digital audiobook. One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than 40 languages, sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, served as the basis for an enormously popular motion picture, and was voted one of the best novels of the 20th century by librarians across the country.
-
-
A gift to be treasured
- By David Shear on 07-09-14
By: Harper Lee
-
As I Lay Dying
- By: William Faulkner, Jesmyn Ward - introduction
- Narrated by: Marc Cashman, Robertson Dean, Lina Patel, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of William Faulkner’s finest novels, As I Lay Dying, originally published in 1930, remains a captivating and stylistically innovative work. The story revolves around a grim yet darkly humorous pilgrimage, as Addie Bundren’s family sets out to fulfill her last wish: to be buried in her native Jefferson, Mississippi, far from the miserable backwater surroundings of her married life.
-
-
Faulkner's As I Lay Dying review
- By Kristina on 11-12-08
By: William Faulkner, and others
-
The Water Dancer (Oprah’s Book Club)
- A Novel
- By: Ta-Nehisi Coates
- Narrated by: Joe Morton
- Length: 14 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Young Hiram Walker was born into bondage. When his mother was sold away, Hiram was robbed of all memory of her - but was gifted with a mysterious power. Years later, when Hiram almost drowns in a river, that same power saves his life. This brush with death births an urgency in Hiram and a daring scheme: to escape from the only home he’s ever known. So begins an unexpected journey that takes Hiram from the corrupt grandeur of Virginia’s proud plantations to desperate guerrilla cells in the wilderness, from the coffin of the South to dangerously idealistic movements in the North.
-
-
We Must Always Remember
- By Cammie on 09-28-19
By: Ta-Nehisi Coates
-
Gone with the Wind
- By: Margaret Mitchell
- Narrated by: Linda Stephens
- Length: 49 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Literature, Margaret Mitchell's great novel of the South is one of the most popular books ever written. Within six months of its publication in 1936, Gone With the Wind had sold a million copies. To date, it has been translated into 25 languages, and more than 28 million copies have been sold. Here are the characters that have become symbols of passion and desire....
-
-
Got the Accents Right
- By Noel on 04-27-10
-
Born a Crime
- Stories from a South African Childhood
- By: Trevor Noah
- Narrated by: Trevor Noah
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this award-winning Audible Studios production, Trevor Noah tells his wild coming-of-age tale during the twilight of apartheid in South Africa. It’s a story that begins with his mother throwing him from a moving van to save him from a potentially fatal dispute with gangsters, then follows the budding comedian’s path to self-discovery through episodes both poignant and comical.
-
-
Great book and perfect narration
- By MarilynArms on 12-15-16
By: Trevor Noah
-
The Personal Librarian
- By: Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 12 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In her twenties, Belle da Costa Greene is hired by J. P. Morgan to curate a collection of rare manuscripts, books, and artwork for his newly built Pierpont Morgan Library. Belle becomes a fixture in New York City society and one of the most powerful people in the art and book world, known for her impeccable taste and shrewd negotiating for critical works as she helps create a world-class collection.
-
-
A Treat For This Academic Librarian!
- By AlTonya on 07-14-21
By: Marie Benedict, and others
-
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
- A Novel
- By: Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Narrated by: Alma Cuervo, Julia Whelan, Robin Miles
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one in the journalism community is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now? Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband, David, has left her, and her career has stagnated.
-
-
Glucose Gluttony
- By W Perry Hall on 03-17-18
Critic reviews
"For readers who know Hurston's work, this program will be a joy; for those who are lucky and wise enough to discover her here, it will be an exceptional experience." (AudioFile)
Featured Article: Voices of Audible—Women's History Month
It can be challenging for anyone to feel in charge these days—especially women, many of whom are leaving their jobs at record rates and reporting that they're struggling with self-esteem at work. That’s why this Women’s History Month, we asked a range of women at Audible, from a high school intern to a creative director, "When did you take charge?" Find their inspiring stories and listening recommendations that champion the strength of women everywhere.
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Their Eyes Were Watching God
- By: Zora Neale Hurston
- Narrated by: Ruby Dee
- Length: 2 hrs and 45 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This recently rediscovered and critically acclaimed 1937 novel tells the story of Janie Crawford, a long-legged, articulate, and fiercely independent African-American woman of the 1930s. Janie's quest for identity includes three marriages and a return to her roots. Despite her struggles, Janie never defines herself by regret, fear, or unrealistic dreams, and refuses to be anything but her own person.
-
-
It is only 5 chapters!
- By Shayla T. on 11-15-18
-
Every Tongue Got to Confess
- By: Zora Neale Hurston
- Narrated by: Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis
- Length: 6 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Every Tongue Got to Confess is an extensive volume of African American folklore that Zora Neale Hurston collected on her travels through the Gulf States in the late 1920s. The bittersweet and often hilarious tale, which range from longer narratives about God, the Devil, white folk, and mistaken identity to witty one-liners, reveal attitudes about faith, love, family, slavery, race, and community.
-
-
Difficult to hear so I can't rate Story fairly
- By d on 02-18-15
-
Mules and Men
- By: Zora Neale Hurston
- Narrated by: Ruby Dee
- Length: 2 hrs and 57 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Mules and Men, some of the rich cultural heritage of black America is revealed and preserved. In the 1930s, Zora Neale Hurston returned to her home town of Eatonville, Florida, to collect and record the oral histories, songs, and sermons, many dating back to slavery times, that she remembered hearing as a child. These highly metaphorical folktales, "big old lies", and powerful songs helped her to recover her history, and preserve an important part of American culture.
-
-
ABRIDGED version
- By Ben on 02-06-19
-
The Life of Herod the Great
- By: Zora Neale Hurston, Deborah G. Plant - editor
- Narrated by: Blair Underwood, Robin Miles
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the 1950s, as a continuation of Moses, Man of the Mountain, Zora Neale Hurston penned a historical novel about one of the most infamous figures in the Bible, Herod the Great. In Hurston’s retelling, Herod is not the wicked ruler of the New Testament who is charged with the “slaughter of the innocents,” but a forerunner of Christ—a beloved king who enriched Jewish culture and brought prosperity and peace to Judea.
-
-
like the lion needs no weapon but himself
- By william t. on 03-25-25
By: Zora Neale Hurston, and others
-
You Don’t Know Us Negroes and Other Essays
- By: Zora Neale Hurston, Henry Louis Gates - introduction, Genevieve West - introduction
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 15 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
You Don’t Know Us Negroes is the quintessential gathering of provocative essays from one of the world’s most celebrated writers, Zora Neale Hurston. Spanning more than three decades and penned during the backdrop of the birth of the Harlem Renaissance, Montgomery bus boycott, desegregation of the military, and school integration, Hurston’s writing articulates the beauty and authenticity of Black life as only she could. Collectively, these essays showcase the roles enslavement and Jim Crow have played in intensifying Black people’s inner lives and culture rather than destroying it.
-
-
Robotic Reading
- By lacy stevens on 09-02-22
By: Zora Neale Hurston, and others
-
Dust Tracks on a Road
- An Autobiography
- By: Zora Neale Hurston
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dust Tracks on a Road is the bold, poignant, and funny autobiography of novelist, folklorist, and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston, one of American literature's most compelling and influential authors. Hurston's powerful novels of the South - including Jonah's Gourd Vine and, most famously, Their Eyes Were Watching God - continue to enthrall readers with their lyrical grace, sharp detail, and captivating emotionality.
-
-
Very nice!
- By Joi Wilson on 10-31-16
-
Their Eyes Were Watching God
- By: Zora Neale Hurston
- Narrated by: Ruby Dee
- Length: 2 hrs and 45 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This recently rediscovered and critically acclaimed 1937 novel tells the story of Janie Crawford, a long-legged, articulate, and fiercely independent African-American woman of the 1930s. Janie's quest for identity includes three marriages and a return to her roots. Despite her struggles, Janie never defines herself by regret, fear, or unrealistic dreams, and refuses to be anything but her own person.
-
-
It is only 5 chapters!
- By Shayla T. on 11-15-18
-
Every Tongue Got to Confess
- By: Zora Neale Hurston
- Narrated by: Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis
- Length: 6 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Every Tongue Got to Confess is an extensive volume of African American folklore that Zora Neale Hurston collected on her travels through the Gulf States in the late 1920s. The bittersweet and often hilarious tale, which range from longer narratives about God, the Devil, white folk, and mistaken identity to witty one-liners, reveal attitudes about faith, love, family, slavery, race, and community.
-
-
Difficult to hear so I can't rate Story fairly
- By d on 02-18-15
-
Mules and Men
- By: Zora Neale Hurston
- Narrated by: Ruby Dee
- Length: 2 hrs and 57 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Mules and Men, some of the rich cultural heritage of black America is revealed and preserved. In the 1930s, Zora Neale Hurston returned to her home town of Eatonville, Florida, to collect and record the oral histories, songs, and sermons, many dating back to slavery times, that she remembered hearing as a child. These highly metaphorical folktales, "big old lies", and powerful songs helped her to recover her history, and preserve an important part of American culture.
-
-
ABRIDGED version
- By Ben on 02-06-19
-
The Life of Herod the Great
- By: Zora Neale Hurston, Deborah G. Plant - editor
- Narrated by: Blair Underwood, Robin Miles
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the 1950s, as a continuation of Moses, Man of the Mountain, Zora Neale Hurston penned a historical novel about one of the most infamous figures in the Bible, Herod the Great. In Hurston’s retelling, Herod is not the wicked ruler of the New Testament who is charged with the “slaughter of the innocents,” but a forerunner of Christ—a beloved king who enriched Jewish culture and brought prosperity and peace to Judea.
-
-
like the lion needs no weapon but himself
- By william t. on 03-25-25
By: Zora Neale Hurston, and others
-
You Don’t Know Us Negroes and Other Essays
- By: Zora Neale Hurston, Henry Louis Gates - introduction, Genevieve West - introduction
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 15 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
You Don’t Know Us Negroes is the quintessential gathering of provocative essays from one of the world’s most celebrated writers, Zora Neale Hurston. Spanning more than three decades and penned during the backdrop of the birth of the Harlem Renaissance, Montgomery bus boycott, desegregation of the military, and school integration, Hurston’s writing articulates the beauty and authenticity of Black life as only she could. Collectively, these essays showcase the roles enslavement and Jim Crow have played in intensifying Black people’s inner lives and culture rather than destroying it.
-
-
Robotic Reading
- By lacy stevens on 09-02-22
By: Zora Neale Hurston, and others
-
Dust Tracks on a Road
- An Autobiography
- By: Zora Neale Hurston
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dust Tracks on a Road is the bold, poignant, and funny autobiography of novelist, folklorist, and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston, one of American literature's most compelling and influential authors. Hurston's powerful novels of the South - including Jonah's Gourd Vine and, most famously, Their Eyes Were Watching God - continue to enthrall readers with their lyrical grace, sharp detail, and captivating emotionality.
-
-
Very nice!
- By Joi Wilson on 10-31-16
-
Cudjo's Own Story of the Last African Slaver
- By: Zora Neale Hurston
- Narrated by: Bobby Brill
- Length: 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Originally published in The Journal of Negro History, this fascinating and important work records the recollections of Cudjo Lewis, one of the last surviving captives of the Clotilde, the final ship to dock in the United States with a cargo of African slaves. Lewis and Zora Neale Hurston provide an ethnography of Lewis's own Togo people, detail his capture by warriors of the Kingdom of Dahomey, hardship and strife aboard the Clotilde en route to port in Alabama, and his eventual liberation.
-
The Bluest Eye
- By: Toni Morrison
- Narrated by: Toni Morrison
- Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is the story of 11-year-old Pecola Breedlove--a black girl in an America whose love for its blond, blue-eyed children can devastate all others--who prays for her eyes to turn blue: so that she will be beautiful, so that people will look at her, so that her world will be different. This is the story of the nightmare at the heart of her yearning and the tragedy of its fulfillment.
-
-
Amazing
- By psiegler on 07-25-18
By: Toni Morrison
-
Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick
- Stories from the Harlem Renaissance
- By: Zora Neale Hurston
- Narrated by: Aunjanue Ellis
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick is an outstanding collection of stories about love and migration, gender and class, racism and sexism that proudly reflect African-American folk culture. Brought together for the first time in one volume, they include eight of Hurston’s "lost" Harlem stories, which were found in forgotten periodicals and archives. These stories challenge conceptions of Hurston as an author of rural fiction and include gems that flash with her biting, satiric humor, as well as more serious tales.
-
-
Great Writer - Great Reader
- By Avid Listener on 09-09-20
-
Barracoon
- The Story of the Last ""Black Cargo""
- By: Zora Neale Hurston
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 3 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1927, Zora Neale Hurston went to Plateau, Alabama, just outside Mobile, to interview 86-year-old Cudjo Lewis. Of the millions of men, women, and children transported from Africa to America as slaves, Cudjo was then the only person alive to tell the story of this integral part of the nation's history. Hurston was there to record Cudjo's firsthand account of the raid that led to his capture and bondage 50 years after the Atlantic slave trade was outlawed in the United States. In 1931, Hurston returned to Plateau, the African-centric community three miles from Mobile.
-
-
skip the introduction!
- By Earin on 10-16-18
-
Study Guide: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (SuperSummary)
- By: SuperSummary
- Narrated by: Keyonni James
- Length: 1 hr and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Widely celebrated as one of the most important works of 20th-century African American and American women’s literature, Their Eyes Were Watching God tells the story of Janie Crawford’s evolution from impressionable, idealistic girl to self-confident woman. SuperSummary, a modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, offers high-quality instructional study guides for challenging works of literature.
By: SuperSummary
-
Study Guide: Their Eyes Were Watching God
- By: Total Class Notes
- Narrated by: Stella June
- Length: 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
You can now review this novel by listening to the summary on your way to class! In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston takes us on a journey warning against the pursuit of personal fulfillment through material means. This study guide for Their Eyes Were Watching God allows you to listen to a reflective reading of this internationally best-selling novel. This audio study guide provides a short, clear and better understanding of the novel that you can listen to on the go; making your literature teaching and studying quicker and easier.
-
Beloved
- By: Toni Morrison
- Narrated by: Toni Morrison
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sethe was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. Sethe has too many memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened. And Sethe’s new home is haunted by the ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved.
-
-
Author-read Books
- By John R Williford on 07-14-06
By: Toni Morrison
-
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
- By: Maya Angelou
- Narrated by: Maya Angelou
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and her brother, Bailey, endure the ache of abandonment and the prejudice of the local “powhitetrash.” At eight years old, Maya is attacked by a man many times her age - and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime. But years later, she learns about love for herself and the kindness of others, her own strong spirit, and the ideas of great authors.
-
-
Emotional & Powerful
- By Miss Toni on 06-30-13
By: Maya Angelou
-
Native Son
- By: Richard Wright
- Narrated by: Peter Francis James
- Length: 17 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Right from the start, Bigger Thomas had been headed for jail. It could have been for assault or petty larceny; by chance, it was for murder and rape. Native Son tells the story of this young black man caught in a downward spiral after he kills a young white woman in a brief moment of panic. Set in Chicago in the 1930s, Richard Wright's powerful novel is an unsparing reflection on the poverty and feelings of hopelessness experienced by people in inner cities across the country and of what it means to be black in America.
-
-
Simply a classic
- By Noah Smith on 11-11-10
By: Richard Wright
-
Magnolia Flower
- By: Zora Neale Hurston
- Narrated by: Ibram X. Kendi, Sheryl Lee Ralph
- Length: 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Born to parents who fled slavery and the Trail of Tears, Magnolia Flower is a girl with a vibrant spirit. Not to be deterred by rigid ways of the world, she longs to connect with others, who too long for freedom. She finds this in a young man of letters who her father disapproves of. In her quest to be free, Magnolia must make a choice and set off on a journey that will prove just how brave one can be when leading with one’s heart.
-
-
Beautiful Love story
- By Jaki on 07-12-23
-
Invisible Man
- A Novel
- By: Ralph Ellison
- Narrated by: Joe Morton
- Length: 18 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ralph Elllison's Invisible Man is a monumental novel, one that can well be called an epic of modern American Negro life. It is a strange story, in which many extraordinary things happen, some of them shocking and brutal, some of them pitiful and touching—yet always with elements of comedy and irony and burlesque that appear in unexpected places. It is a book that has a great deal to say and which is destined to have a great deal said about it.
-
-
How Did This Escape Me?
- By E. Pearson on 11-23-11
By: Ralph Ellison
-
Moses, Man of the Mountain
- By: Zora Neale Hurston
- Length: 12 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this novel based on the familiar story of the Exodus, Zora Neale Hurston blends the Moses of the Old Testament with the Moses of black folklore and song to create a compelling allegory of power, redemption, and faith.
BEAUTIFUL LITERARY GIFT
Who was your favorite character and why?
TEA CAKE was my favorite character because he was the one person Janie had encountered in her life up to the point of meeting him that allowed her to develop into her authentic self. He wasn't ( but then who is ) perfect, yet he had no qualms about being who he was. He enjoyed the people in his community! He truly loved being around people and seeing them have fun and lots of laughter. This being so, despite the hard times and unsure future. He lived in the moment, and that was refreshing for me, the listener.
Which scene was your favorite?
My favorite scene was when Janie's second husband (Joe Starks ) shut her out of his life as he was dying, and Janie refusing to let him die without hearing her out, and explaining why she said such hurtful things to him. She wanted to apologize, and also let him know that she didn't say the hurtful things for any reason other than reacting to the awful way he had treated her.
She truly wanted them to end things on a good note before he died. He denied he was dying, as he died in front of her. His denial, resentments, and insecurities led him to spend his last years angry and fearful.
He lived in so much self-centered fear that he was more willing to believe a witch doctor, who was only out for his money, rather than make peace with his wife, and allow Janie to provide his care. She had real concern for his genuine well being, and how sad he couldn't rid his resentments towards her, and die peacefully.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
Hope, Courage, Joy, and Peace- One woman's journey to finding her authentic self.
Any additional comments?
Highly recommend! Great Novel! SO much to learn and ponder within this amazing literary classic!
RIVETING!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You know from the beginning that it isn't a happy story, that the love isn't going to end well, but- despite not liking the leading man- you root for the couple and try to find a way around the impending tragedy.
The writing is heartbreakingly beautiful, with perfect dialect for the characters and breathtaking language in the narration. It combines the colloquial with the esoteric.
The narrator is perfect. She gives a rich preformance that makes characters out of people who otherwise could be caricatures and gives passion wisdom and heart to the voice of the narration.
Perfect
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
the positives and negatives
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Best Ever!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Just loved it
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Beautiful!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
heartwrenching
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Best audio performance ever
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great reader.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Finding Yourself
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.