Their Eyes Were Watching GodTheir Eyes Were Watching God
Score Classic
What it's about
Janie Crawford comes back to her small Florida town alone, and the townspeople gossip about what happened to her. She tells her best friend the story: her grandmother married her off at sixteen to an old farmer; she ran away with an ambitious man who became the mayor of an all-Black town and kept her under his thumb; and then she met Tea Cake, a younger man who made her feel alive, and went with him to work in the Everglades.
Why it's worth reading
It's on TIME's list of the 100 best novels and was voted onto PBS's Great American Read. It's a love story and one of the great novels about a woman finding her own voice.
You'll love it if you liked
The Color Purple
Beloved
Salvage the BonesGood to know
The dialogue is written in Southern Black dialect, which reads easily after a few pages. A hurricane and domestic violence are part of the story.
By the numbers
- Readers45 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics59 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller48 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
Why it made the list
Reads as
Thought-provoking, Moving
If you like this, read next
Lonesome Dove
Pride and Prejudice
Sophie's Choice
The Age of Innocence
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Quick answers
Is Their Eyes Were Watching God worth reading?
Yes. It's on TIME's list of the 100 best novels and was voted onto PBS's Great American Read. It ranks #1,056 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 72.3 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Their Eyes Were Watching God about?
Janie Crawford comes back to her small Florida town alone, and the townspeople gossip about what happened to her. She tells her best friend the story: her grandmother married her off at sixteen to an old farmer; she ran away with an ambitious man who became the mayor of an all-Black town and kept her under his thumb; and then she met Tea Cake, a younger man who made her feel alive, and went with him to work in the Everglades.
How long does it take to read Their Eyes Were Watching God?
About 6 hours (260 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Their Eyes Were Watching God?
If you liked it, try The Color Purple by Alice Walker, Beloved by Toni Morrison or Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward.