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Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick
- Stories from the Harlem Renaissance
- Narrated by: Aunjanue Ellis
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
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Publisher's Summary
From "one of the greatest writers of our time" (Toni Morrison) - the author of Barracoon and Their Eyes Were Watching God - a collection of remarkable stories, including eight "lost" Harlem Renaissance tales now available to a wide audience for the first time.
New York Times’ Books to Watch For
BuzzFeed’s Most Anticipated Books of 2020
Newsweek’s Most Anticipated Books
Forbes.com’s Most Anticipated Books of 2020
E!’s Top 2020 Books to Read
Glamour’s Best Books
In 1925, Barnard student Zora Neale Hurston - the sole black student at the college - was living in New York, "desperately striving for a toe-hold on the world." During this period, she began writing short works that captured the zeitgeist of African-American life and transformed her into one of the central figures of the Harlem Renaissance. Nearly a century later, this singular talent is recognized as one of the most influential and revered American artists of the modern period.
Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick is an outstanding collection of stories about love and migration, gender and class, racism and sexism that proudly reflect African-American folk culture. Brought together for the first time in one volume, they include eight of Hurston’s "lost" Harlem stories, which were found in forgotten periodicals and archives. These stories challenge conceptions of Hurston as an author of rural fiction and include gems that flash with her biting, satiric humor, as well as more serious tales reflective of the cultural currents of Hurston’s world. All are timeless classics that enrich our understanding and appreciation of this exceptional writer’s voice and her contributions to America’s literary traditions.
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What listeners say about Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Performance
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- Avid Listener
- 09-09-20
Great Writer - Great Reader
Aunjanue Ellis is such a good reader. She should re-record Their Eyes Were Watching God, unabridged. The existing recording is of poor audio quality, and Aunjanue would make that book sing. I hope she records many more books. I can't wait to listen to them.
37 people found this helpful
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- DeVaughn
- 03-30-20
Excellent Snapshot of 1920s Black America
Hurston eloquently describes the life of Southern Black people through the Great migration. Her views on marriage, manhood, love, and freedom are captured through m characters and the diverse world of Eatonville and Harlem. This is a must read
27 people found this helpful
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- Beta 66
- 04-13-20
Lost works
too bad these were not collected sooner. She was an unrecognized giant. She has. true grit.
20 people found this helpful
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- kwhite
- 04-30-20
Hurston's Great Stories
I love the visual pictures she creates through her exquisite writing style and authentic Negro dialect of the country folk she so often writes about. Memorable, funny, and haunting characters as they pass their days. A very refreshing look into a very different past.
19 people found this helpful
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- showed
- 08-02-20
Engagingly inviting
The short stories have you on a roller coaster of experiences and like a roller coaster the stories are thrilling, scary, fun and full of twists and turns. Mostly the stories are haunting in way to make you want more. The audio was brilliantly converted into an essential part of the story. It sounded like old friends and though I have both the hard copy and audiobooks, I love the audio more
17 people found this helpful
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- Rebecca
- 05-09-20
Great Book
I listened to this book for a paper, but I genuinely enjoyed it all together. The stories, even thr short ones, are expressive and have wonderful characters. I'm greatful to have gotten to listen to this, and I hope that many others will enjoy it as well.
14 people found this helpful
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Story
- Ken Haygood
- 05-15-20
Beautiful Stories
The stories were beautiful and the narrator was amazing! Some stories were so thought provoking, I had to go back and listen again.
11 people found this helpful
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Performance
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Story
- Rhonda J. Kuykindoll
- 07-09-20
Very entertaining...
The narrator was excellent. I really enjoyed this book. Some of the short stories were very funny.
9 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Cynthia clark
- 06-03-20
I love Zora Neale Hurston
Great narrator. I've listened to sweat so many times. Beautiful use of language as usual
9 people found this helpful
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- Theresa Piazza
- 05-23-20
Absolutely Brilliant!
Each one of these stories were worth the wait! Hi wish there were more newly discovered Zora stories.
8 people found this helpful