Beautiful stories by a true master of the craft. These stories feel timely today and this collection is a must for every library.

An unapologetic storytelling of characters in the black culture. To me, some stories were better than others. I particularly struggled with the biblical format for the stories in the latter part of the book. On the one hand I appreciated the parody; on the other, citation of chapter and verse got a little tedious. Thanks to NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Zora does not miss it. The specificity of the descriptions of religious traditions, creative ambitions, and ancestral remissions makes this collection a must-read.

The canonical additions to what we know about The Harlem Renaissance are broadened with purpose with this collection. Every Zora fan will be delighted to hear her voice once again.

HITTING A STRAIGHT LICK WITH A CROOKED STICK by Zora Neale Hurston (Their Eyes Were Watching God) is a newly published collection of short stories from the Harlem Renaissance. Originally published between 1921 and 1934, they are arranged chronologically and illustrate Zora Neale Hurston's evolution as a writer. These 21 stories involve explorations of racism, sexism, class differences, regionalism, coming of age themes and human conflict. Many are set in Hurston's home town of Eatonville, Florida while others take place in Harlem. Writing in The Washington Post, Naomi Jackson (The Star Side of Bird Hill), notes that "Hurston's work has been a guiding light for my own writing, especially its radical insistence on the value of singular attention to black communities, the black vernacular and black oral traditions of speech and storytelling." HITTING A STRAIGHT LICK WITH A CROOKED STICK received a starred review from Booklist.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R30T7XUPMNDS00/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

An absolute thrill to read short stories from one of my favorite and most influential authors. A bit disappointed that the forward contained so many spoilers; would have been better an an afterword. Sorry I read it. But certainly, dive deep into this treasure of a collection, whether this is you first Hurston read or simply your latest. SO happy I got to read it!

Harlem Renaissance author and Fort Pierce resident, the late Hurston wrote a collection of short stories while being the sole black student at Barnard in 1925. Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick is a collection of stories about love and migration, gender and class, racism and sexism that reflect African American folk culture.

Zora Neale Hurston is best remembered for her 1937 novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Although it was not widely received when it was published, Hurston had been a central figure of the Harlem Renaissance literary scene alongside Langston Hughes and Alain Locke. When Alice Walker credited Hurston as one of her inspirations in her 1975 article, “In Search of Zora Neale Hurston” in Ms. magazine, Walker brought Hurston to even wider acclaim than her heyday. Now Hurston’s long career as a short story author is being immortalized in this collection Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick with her 21 stories, 8 of which were relatively “lost” after their initial publication.

The stories are published in chronological order of when they were written so readers can track the evolution of Hurston’s writing technique, character development, and plotting. The all-black town Eatonville, Florida (where Hurston spent her formative childhood years) is a prominent setting for many of her characters, but Harlem also plays an important role for others. Hurston’s journey as someone who participated in the Great Migration is reflected in these stories. The culture clash of that movement is specifically explored in, “The Country in the Woman,” where a Florida couple relocates to Harlem; the husband expects to adapt to a different way of life in the city, while the wife clings to her country sensibilities.

Like Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston’s female characters in this collection exhibit nuance that went largely unexplored by the contemporary male writers of her time. “Drenched in Light” shows the free spirit of a young girl named Isis before society forces her to confirm to its rigid ideas of femininity. Her Grandma Potts lists many things she “felt no one of this female persuasion should do—one was to sit with the knees separated, ‘settin’ brazen’ she called it; another was whistling, another playing with boys, neither must a lady cross her legs." Isis’ rebellion against Grandma Potts’ rules is ultimately rewarded when she runs off with a new tablecloth as a cape, and strangers offer to reimburse Grandma Potts 5 times what the cloth is worth to discourage her from punishing Isis.

“Magnolia Flower” is another triumph of what women are capable of, and also a condemnation of the abuse men can perpetuate. Bentley is freed from slavery, buys his own estate, and marries a Cherokee woman, but he will only hire black and Cherokee servants like his oppressors before him. His daughter Magnolia Flower falls in love with a light skinned man with a promising future, and Bentley resents this match due to colorism. Magnolia Flower saves her beloved from her father’s violent and controlling clutches because, "A woman robbed of her love is more terrible than an army with banners," and the couple runs away. Lines like, "Rage had burst [Bentley’s] heart at being outwitted by a girl," recognize the types of individual wins that would eventually pave the way to women’s liberation.

Hurston’s master of language is evident throughout all of her dialogue. She consciously wrote in African American idiom to reflect the dialect of the working class to contrast with the popular trend of the Harlem Renaissance to only portray middle class black characters, which many believed to be the only way to dispel racist stereotypes. Thanks to the efforts of Hurston (and others), we have a more realistic portrayal of language of common African Americans, not just the cream of the crop that rose to the top of the Harlem Renaissance. Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick is a necessary read to examine race, gender, and class of the 1920s and ‘30s.

I recieved an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book and will recommend it often!

I have been meaning to read Their Eyes Were Watching God for forever, and jumped at the chance to read this comprehensive collection of Zora Neal Hurston's short stories, some previously published, some "lost", some moving, some comical, all of them brilliantly expressive. I found the Introduction and front matter quite illuminating, considering the writer's position as bastion of her genre; it is fascinating that her writing dialog in rural slang was seen as so controversial at the time, and I love that she chose again and again to go her own way, in her writing choices.

I am amazed at the giant scope of issues ZNH tackles so deftly, including race, the institution of marriage. and the politics of gender and class. I took a star off for all the biblical storytelling and origin tale-style stuff that's not my favorite, but of course that's just cuz of my personal preference.

Zora Neale Hurston, one of the greatest African American authors during the Harlem Renaissance had some unpublished works that were just released. Set in different parts of the country, and in a dialect that was prominent at that time, Ms. Hurston tells different stories about life and people. The first story was the most emotional to me and was my favorite.

I received a copy of the book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All Thoughts and opinions are my own

I found the introduction to this book by Genevieve West particularly helpful in helping me understand Huston’s growth as a writer. Although I struggled with the black dialect, it was a necessary part of the story. I found myself reading much of the conversation out loud to understand what was said. What Hurston did so adeptly was showing the sad side of love, how race and poverty puts people in positions that aren’t favorable to them. Hurston’s ability to observe people and then recreate them in short stories is evident. Yes, this wasn’t my favorite book, but it is an important book in helping me to understand how a writer’s talents are developed.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reading copy. This is the first time that I have read Zora Neale Hurston. I have been hesitant because I've heard that the dialect that she uses can make her books difficult to read. I did not find that to be a problem at all. In fact, I'm sorry I waited so long! Her short stories have vivid, interesting characters, even in the shortest stories. I understand that this collection contains some never before published stories. I would give the book 5 stars, except for two things. The first is the literary essay at the beginning of the book. If you are a literary critic or work with literature for a living you might like it, but for the casual reader the essay is way too long. It takes up 20% of the book! The other things that I did not like about the book are the stories that she wrote in biblical fashion - with verse numbers and biblical (King James style) language. I found this was a barrier to getting into the stories - in fact, I ended up skipping those stories. Otherwise, this is a 5-star book. I look forward to reading Her Eyes Were Watching God and other books by Zora Neale Hurston.

"Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick" is fantastic. This one will be highly recommended by me to patrons and friends.

Its good thing I didn’t go into Hitting A Straight Lick With A Crooked Stick with high expectations.

These short stories all have some life meaning you’re suppose to figure out by the time you finished them. Some of the stories I enjoyed while others I didn’t. I think what kills short stories for me is when there is no cohesiveness between them, this rang loud and true with HASLWACS. Also, the author tends to voice her characters in the dialect of the times they’re written in so some people may find that aspect a bit deterring.

But for the most part, I think that if you have not read any works by Ms. Hurston....HASLWACS may be your entry into her writing style. Do take your time when reading though.

This might be a collection to add to your library for collection purposes as well.

*Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read/review.

I requested an ARC of this book because I knew I'd never get to it if I didn't commit to doing a review and I felt like I should read it, since it's from one of Black Literature's revered authors.
I enjoyed most of the stories in this book (particularly Sweat, feat. Sykes & Delia), though short stories are difficult for me, because just as I start to get into the characters and the rhythm, the story ends. I feel odd not glowing about this book because it's Hurston's work. Short story collections aren't really my bag, though they'd be fun to read as a one-off, one by one.

These selected stories, presented in chronological order of creation, allow the reader to track the maturation of Hurston from gifted storyteller to master of American letters. These stories provide a good introduction to her groundbreaking vernacular transcription, as well as just some great tale-telling. At times heart breaking and hilarious, Hurston experiments to great effect with different styles that are still in use today. Anyone interested in “the classics” cannot afford to miss this book.

This collection of short stories shows the impressive range of legendary author Zora Neale Hurston. Many readers have only read Their Eyes Were Watching God, but Hurston has SO much more to offer. Reading this felt like a getting a look at Hurston's creative process and the issues weighing on her mind. The only reason I didn't go for a five star rating is because it felt a little unpolished, like something she wasn't ready to share with the world. But I did really enjoy it, and I think the editors did a great job in organizing it.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B6nO04hg2gK/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

I had the pleasure of reading Zora Neale Hurston’s book, Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick, earlier this week and it was so good. Tayari Jones’s Forward is fire! Her introduction to who Hurston was and why her works are so popular, really hyped up my interest. I’m going to recommend when you read this book, to take your time. Hurston is known for using the dialect of that time and it can throw you off if you’re not paying attention. Overall this was a 4/5 star read for me. ⁣

I was drawn to this book by the cover - it's beautiful! I found the dialog to be a challenge at times but overall this was an interesting collection of stories.

Adored every word. Zora Neale Hurston is a genius and I'm so grateful we can hear from her again posthumously.