more focus, miss mori

Honestly, most parts of this book are either wildly over-analyzed or completely underrated. Some of the issues (such as Richard Wright's insistence that there is no relevant racial commentary) are blown way out of proportion, others (such as the character studies of Janie fleshed out thanks to Pheoby Watson and Sam/Lige earlier on) are, as far as I've seen, quietly slipped in and ignored (at least, they were ignored by a high school English class, which, to be fair, is probably not up to the highest standards).

Despite the nonsense that was Tea Cake beating up Janie in chapters 16 and 17, Zora Neale Hurston's writing style is captivating and I will never look at trees the same way again (plus, anyone else love the flood scene?), and I guess this book grew on me enough to garner four stars.

I will re-read it, eventually. This one's probably going to be an opinion change.