October 5, 2002

"Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston: Do you like stories about women searching for love and independence? Do you like Oprah? Then this may be the book for you!

Janie never knew her parents. She was raised by her grandmother and married off at the first sign of womanhood in order to ensure her future. But it takes two failed marriages, the one arranged by her grandmother and one of her own choosing, before Janie finds love with a younger, less-respectable man named, of all things, Tea Cake. Perhaps you know his brothers, Crumb and Bundt.

Anyway, this one was rather disappointing. Much more was expected. No doubt, if Oprah was around back in the day she would have had this in her book club. And that's not a good thing. The title could really be "Their Eyes Were Watching God or How Janie Got Her Groove Back."

There's just nothing here with any weight. Each time the book seems ready to tackle something of importance, such as racism or the depths of love, it skirts the issue and falls back into "best seller" mode. It's more a movie of the week than classic literature.

What makes this particularly frustrating is that Ms. Hurston is obviously a stunning talent. She does some stuff with the language that is nothing short of inspiring. She can turn a phrase. Although, she does make the somewhat questionable decision to present the dialogue phonetically in its folksy, Southern tongue. Example:

'Tain't so big uh chance as it seem lak, Pheoby. Ah'm older than Tea Cake, yes. But he done showed me where it's de thought dat makes de difference in ages."

The "de"s, "dat"s, and "lak"s may add to the authenticity and build characterization, but they annoy almost as much as they help.

RATING:

"Mrs. Dalloway" by Virginia Woolf: Clarissa Dalloway is throwing a party. Sounds fun, right? Not so fast, Honcho. This is one party you want to skip. Tell her your dog's sick or something.

"Mrs. Dalloway" takes place in the course of one day as Clarissa gets ready for her guests to arrive. Her preparations lead her into remembrances of the past, causing her to examine her life and the choices she's made.

This is more stream of consciousness from Ms. Woolf, as Clarissa's wandering thoughts carry the book. Other characters get in on the act, too, taking turns opening their minds for the reader. But it's all done at a distance. There's never any true first person stream of consciousness. "She thought"s and "he thought"s abound.

This book is slower than a tax refund. It's the kind of thing where characters are talking and eight pages go by with only four lines of dialogue exchanged. It's always one step forward, two steps back. It reminded me of Henry James' "The Ambassadors" where it took like 100 pages for two people to walk down the street.

"Mrs. Dalloway" can be interesting at times, and I really did try to like it, but it's just not my thing. It makes "To the Lighthouse" seem like a sprint. If you admire Henry James, James Joyce, and others that pile needless words upon a page, then feel free to give it a chance.

RATING: