SPUNK.

by (Zora Neale Hurston) Adapted for the stage by George C. Wolfe.

Three Tales."Gutsy, gritty and often very funny ... irresistible theatricality." - Michael Kuchwara, Associated Press

Genres: School, Short Stories, African American, Female Authors, Theatre, Plays, Fiction

Hardcover

Published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Chrissie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here follows a free online link to the story Spunk: https://biblioklept.org/2015/02/10/re...

My rating is of the one story entitled "Spunk".

Yeah, I like this, but I do not find its message all that revolutionary. People rarely dare to oppose or even speak up against the strong, those in power or those they fear. Few have the guts to do this. Perhaps it is quite simply that most are too lackadaisical. Few will fight for a principle they say they think is right. If there is a chance they might suffer as a consequence, that they take should take an opposing stand is even slimmer.

The story touches upon what true courage is, but again what is said here has been said before. I agree with Walter that Joe is braver than Spunk.

Superstitions are woven into the story in a believable manner.

I always appreciate that the author writes dialogs in dialect. I do not find the dialect difficult to comprehend; you merely have to think how the words would sound.

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bettie's Books

The rating, any status updates, and those bookshelves, indicate my feelings for this book.

[Sincerae Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read only the short story Spunk in another addition of Zora Neale Hurston's works. I enjoyed Hurston's use of old African-American southern dialect.

[Dawn (& Ron) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buddy read with Chrissie.

I was curious to learn why and how the word spunk was used as the title. I was surprised that it was the name of our main character but not surprised that a word that can mean both courage and audacity was used for this story. One in which the reader is left wondering who is brave (or even what is bravery), who is right who is wrong, who is strong who is weak.

This is only my 2nd Hurston read and it was very easy and comforting to step back into her dialect and amazing dialog.
"he ain’t skeered of nothin‘ on God’s green footstool" The dialog is the star of this short story, it shines and brings Hurston's world to life but there are aspects that just aren't as strong, maybe a longer narrative could have allowed for a more immersing read.

One other item of interest is the sawmill that is integral to the story. We live about 20 minutes from Eatonville and there is an old sawmill centrally located that whenever I pass it in the future I will wonder if I see Joe and whether this is the same mill Hurston used for this story.

[Bookish · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found Spunk to be an okay read. A story I could pass a few minutes with and enjoy a bit of dialect but that's about it. It was just too obvious. I went back to see if perhaps Elijah could've killed Spunk in some elaborate scheme to get Lena which might've been concealed in the subtext of his goading Joe but that doesn't seem to be it. Lena comes off as a sack of meat being competed for by a bunch of men who simultaneously resent Spunk's physicality and its threat to the societal conventions of owning your partner, while perhaps wanting a bit of that for themselves.

[Greta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spunk is a collection of short stories by Zora Neale Hurston, a wonderful master of idiom from central Florida in the early 20th century. The stories she tells aren't long or complicated, just down to earth and often highly entertaining. My husband read these out loud to me at bedtime and they were great.

[darla!! ur mom · Rating 5 out of 5]

ate

[Aimee Leigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice short story, the message about toxic stereotypes of masculinity were nice and clear, but couldn’t she have chosen another name for the bloke? Spunk Banks seems like some kind of torturous joke, particularly when teaching this story to 13/14yr olds who can’t even handle it when you ask them to turn to page 69 🤦🏻‍♀️

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the warmth and breadth of characters Zora Neale Hurston highlights. Gilded Sixbits was my favorite short story. It could have easily been a predictable outcome but instead she chose to tell a more human story, a person delighted with their lot in life despite hardships.

[Becky Osmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Master class in story telling

[Elizabeth Hren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. The ending was awesome

[Octavia]

Excellent. There’s an essay here about black plays and self-narration & third person (see also: brothers size)

[Anna Radzinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

we need to start making classic literature into movies again. this one first

[Layla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was required reading for a university course. Some of it was hard to follow (due to all the slang) but the stories are sure to incite some interesting discussion.