Their Eyes were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston

Reasons this book should be considered a classic:

• Strong character development of the main character - insight into her thinking at different ages
• Non-idealistic view of love and how people who love each other can react - jealous, controlling, abusive, supportive, loving, friendly, etc.
• Societal norms - follow or not to follow?
• Sense of place - gives the feeling of the South during Jim Crow years

I'd never heard of this book before I found it on my "To Read" shelf. Even while I wasn't reading this book, I wondered what would happen next. I considered the life she had left behind and compared it to the life she was embarking on. I wondered how she would end up alone at the end (they tell you this at the beginning).

A wonderful book, I will be passing it on. If I wasn't paring back the bookshelves, I would keep it.