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Moses, Man of the Mountain
“A narrative of great power. Warm with friendly personality and pulsating with . . . profound eloquence and religious fervor.” —New York Times
In this novel based on the familiar story of the Exodus, Zora Neale Hurston blends the Moses of the Old Testament with the Moses of black folklore and song to create a compelling allegory of power, redemption, and faith.
In this novel based on the familiar story of the Exodus, Zora Neale Hurston blends the Moses of the Old Testament with the Moses of black folklore and song to create a compelling allegory of power, redemption, and faith.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1939
181 people are currently reading
4187 people want to read
About the author
Zora Neale Hurston
185 books5,424 followersNovels, including
Their Eyes Were Watching God
(1937), and nonfiction writings of American folklorist Zora Neale Hurston give detailed accounts of African American life in the South.
In 1925, Hurston, one of the leaders of the literary renaissance, happening in Harlem, produced the short-lived literary magazine Fire!! alongside Langston Hughes and Wallace Thurman shortly before she entered Barnard College. This literary movement developed into the Harlem renaissance.
Hurston applied her Barnard ethnographic training to document African American folklore in her critically acclaimed book Mules and Men alongside fiction Their Eyes Were Watching God . She also assembled a folk-based performance dance group that recreated her Southern tableau with one performance on Broadway.
People awarded a Guggenheim fellowship to Hurston to travel to Haiti and conduct research on conjure in 1937. Her significant work ably broke into the secret societies and exposed their use of drugs to create the Vodun trance, also a subject of study for fellow dancer-anthropologist Katherine Dunham, then at the University of Chicago.
In 1954, the Pittsburgh Courier assigned Hurston, unable to sell her fiction, to cover the small-town murder trial of Ruby McCollum, the prosperous black wife of the local lottery racketeer, who had killed a racist white doctor. Hurston also contributed to Woman in the Suwanee County Jail , a book by journalist and civil rights advocate William Bradford Huie.
In 1925, Hurston, one of the leaders of the literary renaissance, happening in Harlem, produced the short-lived literary magazine Fire!! alongside Langston Hughes and Wallace Thurman shortly before she entered Barnard College. This literary movement developed into the Harlem renaissance.
Hurston applied her Barnard ethnographic training to document African American folklore in her critically acclaimed book Mules and Men alongside fiction Their Eyes Were Watching God . She also assembled a folk-based performance dance group that recreated her Southern tableau with one performance on Broadway.
People awarded a Guggenheim fellowship to Hurston to travel to Haiti and conduct research on conjure in 1937. Her significant work ably broke into the secret societies and exposed their use of drugs to create the Vodun trance, also a subject of study for fellow dancer-anthropologist Katherine Dunham, then at the University of Chicago.
In 1954, the Pittsburgh Courier assigned Hurston, unable to sell her fiction, to cover the small-town murder trial of Ruby McCollum, the prosperous black wife of the local lottery racketeer, who had killed a racist white doctor. Hurston also contributed to Woman in the Suwanee County Jail , a book by journalist and civil rights advocate William Bradford Huie.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 146 reviews
December 28, 2021
WOW.
I've read a lot of Zora Neale Hurston's works and even though my expectations were high, she far exceeded what I was looking for. First, I'm going to put this out there - this is far and away my favorite Biblical retelling. More so than the long standing favorite of Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. I loved that the author included history and black folklore - in fact, this made the book of Exodus actually seem more realistic, if I'm being honest.
The imagery was astounding. Hurston's word choice, her simple sentences that carried so much beauty and weight - I felt like I was constantly highlighting quotes and passages. THIS Moses was a true leader, I had so much respect for him and how he dealt with others.
Another one of that will be reread many, many times in the coming years!
I've read a lot of Zora Neale Hurston's works and even though my expectations were high, she far exceeded what I was looking for. First, I'm going to put this out there - this is far and away my favorite Biblical retelling. More so than the long standing favorite of Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. I loved that the author included history and black folklore - in fact, this made the book of Exodus actually seem more realistic, if I'm being honest.
The imagery was astounding. Hurston's word choice, her simple sentences that carried so much beauty and weight - I felt like I was constantly highlighting quotes and passages. THIS Moses was a true leader, I had so much respect for him and how he dealt with others.
Another one of that will be reread many, many times in the coming years!
August 10, 2018
The story of the Hebrews, slaves in Egypt, told through the lens of Africans, slaves in America.
Book Review: Moses, Man of the Mountain shows the strengths of wily Zora Neale Hurston, godmother to writers such as Alice Walker and Toni Morrison. Although a product of the Harlem Renaissance, as ever she refuses to be politically correct. Here she tells the story of Moses and the Exodus her way, like no other, retelling the story with black slaves from the American South somehow replacing the Hebrew slaves of the original tale in Egypt under Pharaoh. Hurston creates an irresistible mix of myth, satire, legend, spirituals, and parallels. She uses many voices, from the vernacular to the professorial, in telling her story. Her version sheds more light on all permutations, comparing and contrasting, allowing a greater understanding of the American experience. Hurston rejected the idea of African Americans as victims, that their entire lives were nothing but a response to the dominant white oppressors. Hurston denied the "arrogance" of whites assuming that "black lives are only defensive reactions to white actions." She preferred celebrating and acknowledging independence and success than bemoaning wrongs. Alice Walker called this a view of "racial health," black people as complete and whole. This point of view was not widely accepted. But it was her vision as she wrote Moses, Man of the Mountain. She speaks to black Americans, to Jewish Americans, and makes strong points about the place of women in society by acknowledging women's role at the time. Hurston's Moses embodies both male and female, a working stand-in for the author herself. Readers could be forgiven for not knowing that Zora Neale Hurston wrote any novels beyond Their Eyes Were Watching God, as her other three novels are virtually invisible. Which is a shame and a continuing crime as they are valuable contributions, vastly underestimated and underrated, always good and always interesting. Moses, Man of the Mountain is well worth reading. [4★]
Book Review: Moses, Man of the Mountain shows the strengths of wily Zora Neale Hurston, godmother to writers such as Alice Walker and Toni Morrison. Although a product of the Harlem Renaissance, as ever she refuses to be politically correct. Here she tells the story of Moses and the Exodus her way, like no other, retelling the story with black slaves from the American South somehow replacing the Hebrew slaves of the original tale in Egypt under Pharaoh. Hurston creates an irresistible mix of myth, satire, legend, spirituals, and parallels. She uses many voices, from the vernacular to the professorial, in telling her story. Her version sheds more light on all permutations, comparing and contrasting, allowing a greater understanding of the American experience. Hurston rejected the idea of African Americans as victims, that their entire lives were nothing but a response to the dominant white oppressors. Hurston denied the "arrogance" of whites assuming that "black lives are only defensive reactions to white actions." She preferred celebrating and acknowledging independence and success than bemoaning wrongs. Alice Walker called this a view of "racial health," black people as complete and whole. This point of view was not widely accepted. But it was her vision as she wrote Moses, Man of the Mountain. She speaks to black Americans, to Jewish Americans, and makes strong points about the place of women in society by acknowledging women's role at the time. Hurston's Moses embodies both male and female, a working stand-in for the author herself. Readers could be forgiven for not knowing that Zora Neale Hurston wrote any novels beyond Their Eyes Were Watching God, as her other three novels are virtually invisible. Which is a shame and a continuing crime as they are valuable contributions, vastly underestimated and underrated, always good and always interesting. Moses, Man of the Mountain is well worth reading. [4★]
November 24, 2024
“This freedom is a funny thing. It ain’t something permanent like rocks and hills. It’s like manna; you just got to keep on gathering it fresh everyday. If you don’t, one day you’re going to find you ain’t got none no more.” -Zora Neale Hurston, Moses, Man of the Mountain
I rarely describe a book this way but Moses, Man of the Mountain is magnificent. In my opinion, this might be Zora Neale Hurston’s best novel in terms of its breadth and research. The historical fiction novel tells the story of the Biblical figure of Moses, the Children of Israel, the Exodus, and the 40 years in the wilderness, from a Black perspective. The novel is riveting at times in how scenes are described, and plot points advanced, and sometimes it is very suspenseful. Moses' search for magic and his use of hoodoo throughout is exciting.
The book is also essentially about leadership and its effectiveness and challenge. It is explicitly about servant-leadership, which is what Moses tried to embody but was not universally respected by others. I enjoyed reading the leadership lessons that Moses taught Joshua, who he mentored in the book. Those specific sections reminded me of classic philosophy books from ancient times (Plato, Aristotle, Marcus Aurelius, etc.).
I also love the dialogue and how it changes throughout the novel. It begins with the more formal speech of the Egyptians and morphs into the Black dialect of the Hebrews and Midianites. Zora transitions it so smoothly that it is seamless. I especially love the scenes when the Hebrews were in the wilderness and the many disagreements they had with Moses in Black dialect. At times it was funny and came across as contemporaneous too.
Ultimately, this book is a character study on what power is, what type of power people want, how they respond to specific types of power, and how leaders make decisions.
I rarely describe a book this way but Moses, Man of the Mountain is magnificent. In my opinion, this might be Zora Neale Hurston’s best novel in terms of its breadth and research. The historical fiction novel tells the story of the Biblical figure of Moses, the Children of Israel, the Exodus, and the 40 years in the wilderness, from a Black perspective. The novel is riveting at times in how scenes are described, and plot points advanced, and sometimes it is very suspenseful. Moses' search for magic and his use of hoodoo throughout is exciting.
The book is also essentially about leadership and its effectiveness and challenge. It is explicitly about servant-leadership, which is what Moses tried to embody but was not universally respected by others. I enjoyed reading the leadership lessons that Moses taught Joshua, who he mentored in the book. Those specific sections reminded me of classic philosophy books from ancient times (Plato, Aristotle, Marcus Aurelius, etc.).
I also love the dialogue and how it changes throughout the novel. It begins with the more formal speech of the Egyptians and morphs into the Black dialect of the Hebrews and Midianites. Zora transitions it so smoothly that it is seamless. I especially love the scenes when the Hebrews were in the wilderness and the many disagreements they had with Moses in Black dialect. At times it was funny and came across as contemporaneous too.
Ultimately, this book is a character study on what power is, what type of power people want, how they respond to specific types of power, and how leaders make decisions.
March 20, 2018
A really powerful take on a very old story.
Hurston is a black female author from the 1930s, and I read this book precisely because this was a demographic and time that I haven't had much exposure to as a reader before.
The nature of the story is quite interesting: on the surface, it is a retelling of the Exodus story from the Old Testament. The book opens right at Moses' birth and closes at the end of his life -- and in between, you get all the highlights: the plagues God sends on Egypt, the giving of the law at Mount Sinai, and so on.
What's underneath is what makes this book so interesting. The slavery of the Israelites in Egypt recalls the treatment of blacks in America, and Hurston made the very compelling decision to have the Israelites speak in what I imagine is slang from black America in the 1930s. For that reason, the dialogue really stands out here.
I will also note that this is a very reflective and powerful book. A lot of time is spent developing Moses' struggles: with who he is, who he has to be, and who he wants to be. As well, Hurston does a great job capturing Moses' frustrations with the Israelites, all while trying to make them, in his words, great.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a refreshing and captivating interpretation of the Exodus story.
Hurston is a black female author from the 1930s, and I read this book precisely because this was a demographic and time that I haven't had much exposure to as a reader before.
The nature of the story is quite interesting: on the surface, it is a retelling of the Exodus story from the Old Testament. The book opens right at Moses' birth and closes at the end of his life -- and in between, you get all the highlights: the plagues God sends on Egypt, the giving of the law at Mount Sinai, and so on.
What's underneath is what makes this book so interesting. The slavery of the Israelites in Egypt recalls the treatment of blacks in America, and Hurston made the very compelling decision to have the Israelites speak in what I imagine is slang from black America in the 1930s. For that reason, the dialogue really stands out here.
I will also note that this is a very reflective and powerful book. A lot of time is spent developing Moses' struggles: with who he is, who he has to be, and who he wants to be. As well, Hurston does a great job capturing Moses' frustrations with the Israelites, all while trying to make them, in his words, great.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a refreshing and captivating interpretation of the Exodus story.
August 18, 2011
Lots of sentences in here that I loved, and some that startled me because they sounded like sentences I would have written if I was talking about the same thing, which I think means that Their Eyes Were Watching God was a bigger influence on me than I realized and that I should probably read it again. I wanna read Hurston's essays now too.
The main thing I didn't like about this here book was how it shifted all the cool things that Aaron, Miriam, and even God did in the Exodus version and attributed them to Moses. And it's not like I'm complaining about the book's theology, I just think the story is worse for it. In the version in Exodus, Moses is scared to talk to people because he stutters, so Aaron is the one who makes all the speeches. This book takes that role away from Aaron and gives it to Moses, and turns Aaron into nothing but a huge whiner, and that makes both of them less interesting. Miriam is maybe more complicated here than she is in Exodus, mostly because Hurston's treatment of her and actually all the female characters is kind of confusing and disturbing. Jethro is the only likeable character in the book; Moses is likeable when he's hanging out with Jethro, the rest of the time he's faceless or obnoxious.
A story about a burning bush that claims to be omnipotent and helps a wimpy goat herder and his enslaved brother and sister do magic and lead a revolution - that's bizarre and scary and cool. ZNH reduces it to a story about one dude who is real good at everything and does everything by himself, and that's mostly boring.
The main thing I didn't like about this here book was how it shifted all the cool things that Aaron, Miriam, and even God did in the Exodus version and attributed them to Moses. And it's not like I'm complaining about the book's theology, I just think the story is worse for it. In the version in Exodus, Moses is scared to talk to people because he stutters, so Aaron is the one who makes all the speeches. This book takes that role away from Aaron and gives it to Moses, and turns Aaron into nothing but a huge whiner, and that makes both of them less interesting. Miriam is maybe more complicated here than she is in Exodus, mostly because Hurston's treatment of her and actually all the female characters is kind of confusing and disturbing. Jethro is the only likeable character in the book; Moses is likeable when he's hanging out with Jethro, the rest of the time he's faceless or obnoxious.
A story about a burning bush that claims to be omnipotent and helps a wimpy goat herder and his enslaved brother and sister do magic and lead a revolution - that's bizarre and scary and cool. ZNH reduces it to a story about one dude who is real good at everything and does everything by himself, and that's mostly boring.
March 10, 2025
Life could never be again what it once was. He had promised a god to go down into hated Egypt and command a man whom he hated and who hated him to permit a people whom Pharaoh hated to leave his servitude and go free.
ok ms hurston!! I'm so sorry I was unfamiliar with your game!!
I absolutely loved reading this and that was such a pleasant surprise? (like, I hoped I'd enjoy it, but I never know how I'll feel about Biblical retellings, you know?) But the writing! it's so gorgeous! I can't even! As always, the story of the Exodus is exciting and dramatic and epic. Given this is more a retelling of the legend of Moses, it deals more with ~magic~ than miracles, but it gave serious Prince of Egypt energy, and I ate that up. It's a cool reimagining of the story, and I'm glad I enjoyed it so much.
5 stars from me!
ok ms hurston!! I'm so sorry I was unfamiliar with your game!!
I absolutely loved reading this and that was such a pleasant surprise? (like, I hoped I'd enjoy it, but I never know how I'll feel about Biblical retellings, you know?) But the writing! it's so gorgeous! I can't even! As always, the story of the Exodus is exciting and dramatic and epic. Given this is more a retelling of the legend of Moses, it deals more with ~magic~ than miracles, but it gave serious Prince of Egypt energy, and I ate that up. It's a cool reimagining of the story, and I'm glad I enjoyed it so much.
5 stars from me!
April 29, 2015
One of my favourite writers from the Harlem Renaissance, who could fail to fall for Zora Neale Hurston's wit and humour? To date 'Their Eyes Were Watching God' is Hurston's most notable piece of work, and the first book I read by her, but I actually prefer this book.
Hurston is magical at bringing characters to life, and this is what I really like about her writing and this book. I enjoyed her re-interpretation of the story of Moses and particularly enjoyed and appreciated the way she incorporated the Black Vernacular into this wonderful piece of work.
I read this as part of my English degree, and it seriously had me cracking up (I'm not sure if this was its purpose)! Some of the dialogue between the characters was amazing, and so real.
I really appreciated the metaphorical symbolism in this book, as well as its allusions.
It's a pity this book often gets overlooked for 'Their Eyes Were Watching God', as I absolutely loved it! I would highly recommend anyone with a sense of humour and a love of folklore to read this book!
Hurston is magical at bringing characters to life, and this is what I really like about her writing and this book. I enjoyed her re-interpretation of the story of Moses and particularly enjoyed and appreciated the way she incorporated the Black Vernacular into this wonderful piece of work.
I read this as part of my English degree, and it seriously had me cracking up (I'm not sure if this was its purpose)! Some of the dialogue between the characters was amazing, and so real.
I really appreciated the metaphorical symbolism in this book, as well as its allusions.
It's a pity this book often gets overlooked for 'Their Eyes Were Watching God', as I absolutely loved it! I would highly recommend anyone with a sense of humour and a love of folklore to read this book!
November 14, 2014
This is yet another thoroughly delightful - if completely different - book from Hurston. As a colorful and thoughtful depiction of Moses's life it's surprisingly accurate and thought-provoking. Where it does diverge from or expound upon the Biblical account, it is still contemplative and challenging. This is easily one of the best pieces of Biblical fiction I've ever read, and certainly the best account of the Exodus.
November 28, 2023
I'M FREEEEEEE WORST EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE!
August 31, 2021
I loved Moses, Man of the Mountain. The dialogue brings back such fond memories of how my grandparents and their generation spoke. Zora Neale Hurston uses a mixture of lively old southern African American dialect and majestic language in her retelling of the story of Moses, the prince of Egypt. The story of Moses is in the Old Testament of the Bible, and he is also a prophet in Islam and is called Mūsā ibn ʿImrān or Moses, son of Amram.
Hurston's writing also shows that she had a sophisticated understanding of human nature and also politics. I often smiled and thought deeply when reading this American classic. She takes some liberties in her version of the story, but generally she follows most of the Biblical narrative.
Below are two of my favorite quotes spoken and thought by Moses.
"This freedom is a funny thing," he told them. "It ain't something permanent like rocks and hills. It's like manna, you just got to keep on gathering it fresh every day. If you don't, one day you're going to find you ain't got none no more."
But he went on to say that he wasn't sure that people ought to have Kings at all. It's pretty hard to find a man who wouldn't weaken under the strain of power and get biggity and overbearing. He himself might not be better than nobody else if he had the chance. So they better let this King business rest for awhile.'
Hurston's writing also shows that she had a sophisticated understanding of human nature and also politics. I often smiled and thought deeply when reading this American classic. She takes some liberties in her version of the story, but generally she follows most of the Biblical narrative.
Below are two of my favorite quotes spoken and thought by Moses.
"This freedom is a funny thing," he told them. "It ain't something permanent like rocks and hills. It's like manna, you just got to keep on gathering it fresh every day. If you don't, one day you're going to find you ain't got none no more."
But he went on to say that he wasn't sure that people ought to have Kings at all. It's pretty hard to find a man who wouldn't weaken under the strain of power and get biggity and overbearing. He himself might not be better than nobody else if he had the chance. So they better let this King business rest for awhile.'
February 26, 2025
As a church kid, this interpretation of Moses and the Israelites is so entertaining!! Zora gave us the best inside story of their thoughts, behaviors and journey. The gossip, the side eyes and the schemes were so good!! She did all of this while remaining true to the biblical story. I enjoyed this one a lot!
February 25, 2014
This book blew hot and cold with me. At times, I thought it deserved 5 stars and sometimes only 2 stars. It did remove my
stereotyped image of Moses as the old man in the robe with the tablets
under his arm.
The forward said that the author was drawing a parallel between
the Israelites in Egypt and the slaves in America. I could definitely
see those likenesses. It said she was also drawing a parallel between
the Israelites in Egypt with the Jews in Hitler's Germany. I didn't
see this so much.
Part of my problem with the book was the detailed account of Moses's
early life such as his highly successful military career , his
becoming a magician, his study of all of nature, and his overcoming
Jethro's enemies in Midian. I'm not a biblical scholar and I don't
know much about the Moses of Black folklore, but I don't remember
Moses having all these exploits.
The portion that covered him leading the Israelites out of Egypt
and their problems on the road to the promised land was much more to
my liking. The use of black vernacular made the story more interesting. I especially liked Moses and the pharaoh talking smack
to each other.
One gets the impression that towards the end of the journey Moses
was pretty sick of his charges who were constantly whining about the
food, complaining that they never should have left the security of
Egypt and not toeing the line of their new God.
This book got me going back and rereading the old testament so
that's a sign of a good book.
Read
May 25, 2016If you are interested in a telling of the Exodus that is faithful to the strictures of the Biblical narrative, do not read this book.
If you are interested in a wildly imaginative, deeply felt, psychologically detailed, and socially charged retelling of the Exodus, read this book. From start to finish I enjoyed everything about ZNH's retelling. It reminded me that the Exodus narrative, while I believe is historically true, is also flexible as metaphor and symbol. It can be applied easily to black slavery, Naziism, and basic every day tensions between the need to fulfill immediate desires the necessary sacrifices required to follow a great and true God.
Hurston's book is loving, playful, funny, and fulfilling. I'm reading through the Pentateuch right now and am so glad I decided to read Moses, Man of the Mountain alongside the Five Books of Moses.
If you are interested in a wildly imaginative, deeply felt, psychologically detailed, and socially charged retelling of the Exodus, read this book. From start to finish I enjoyed everything about ZNH's retelling. It reminded me that the Exodus narrative, while I believe is historically true, is also flexible as metaphor and symbol. It can be applied easily to black slavery, Naziism, and basic every day tensions between the need to fulfill immediate desires the necessary sacrifices required to follow a great and true God.
Hurston's book is loving, playful, funny, and fulfilling. I'm reading through the Pentateuch right now and am so glad I decided to read Moses, Man of the Mountain alongside the Five Books of Moses.
December 4, 2018
Zora Neale Hurston was an erudite visionary, as demonstrated by this intriguing re-telling of the Exodus story. By weaving African-American folklore, speech patterns, and images of emancipation with Biblical symbols and tradition, she creates powerful parallels that expand even beyond any initial reading. Her prose is so RICH and rewarding to read, and I feel like I could read this book two more times and still not grasp all that she did with the characters, dialogue, and plot structure. I'm amazed. My copy had a critical essay at the back about the context the book was written in, and coming to understand how this novel came to exist among antisemitism and anti-blackness worldwide, as well as before the burgeoning Holocaust and Jim Crow eras, made the reading experience even more profound.
December 11, 2014
This book was so good, and so relevant to today's world that I wept that I was finished. This is a book of fiction (as is the Bible) It was never meant to be an actual testimony of what transpired 2 millenia ago. And one needs to ne mindful Hurston was initiated into no less than 5 different hoodoo sects... She's not a Christian
January 2, 2011
I enjoyed the mysticism and the writing, but was surprised by the misogyny.
March 5, 2011
I've read this many years ago, and nothing has changed. What a great book to read.
October 13, 2023
I had very mixed feeling about this book. There were things I really loved and other things that I had a difficult time with.
I really enjoyed the writing style. I didn't have trouble with the dialect and she has some fabulous insights. I have pages and pages of highlights. I'm going to share a lot of them below.
However, I do not like how she made a mess of the Bible stories. I understand this story was about the "mythological" Moses, but I didn't like how the myth casts doubt on the truth of Moses' origins right from the get-go. She turned him into an Egyptian hoodoo man who worked his own "miracles"
I especially disliked that in this version of the story, God had never revealed Himself to or made a covenant with the Hebrew people. She just had the God of the Mountain, whom Jethro had knowledge of, call and send Moses to lead the Hebrews out of slavery and make a great nation of them.
I'd like to understand the reasons for what she did with the Bible story better because it is so problematic to me. On to the quotes:
"Learning without wisdom is a load of books on a donkeys back"
"If they do you wrong, they invent a bad name for you, a good name for their acts, and then destroy you in the name of virtue."
"Slogans can be worse than swords if they are only put in the right mouths."
" I feel the cursing thought of the law and power. I had always felt the beneficence of law and power and never stopped to consider that it had any other side. It is a sword with two edges. Never mind whether it is directed against me honestly or not. That has nothing to do with its power to injure me."
"It seems like the first law of nature is that everybody likes to receive things, but nobody likes to feel grateful. And the very next law is that people talk about tenderness and mercy, but they love force."
"Don't they know, Joshua, that God himself can't save people who won't try to save themselves?"
"... leaders have to be people who give up things. They ain't made out of people who grab things."
"...you'll never be a leader. You are much too sensitive to the wishes of the people but you are too unconscious of their needs."
"I done found out from this that people can do an awful lot of feeling without doing a lick of thinking."
"You hate me at times for not being more interested in your stomachs than in your hearts."
"'This freedom is a funny thing,' he told them. 'It ain't something permanent like rocks and hills. It's like manna. You just got to keep on gathering it fresh everyday. If you don't, one day you're going to find you ain't got none no more.'"
"Happiness is nothing but everyday living seen through veil."
"It is so easy to mix up what you are wishing with what God is saying."
I really enjoyed the writing style. I didn't have trouble with the dialect and she has some fabulous insights. I have pages and pages of highlights. I'm going to share a lot of them below.
However, I do not like how she made a mess of the Bible stories. I understand this story was about the "mythological" Moses, but I didn't like how the myth casts doubt on the truth of Moses' origins right from the get-go. She turned him into an Egyptian hoodoo man who worked his own "miracles"
I especially disliked that in this version of the story, God had never revealed Himself to or made a covenant with the Hebrew people. She just had the God of the Mountain, whom Jethro had knowledge of, call and send Moses to lead the Hebrews out of slavery and make a great nation of them.
I'd like to understand the reasons for what she did with the Bible story better because it is so problematic to me. On to the quotes:
"Learning without wisdom is a load of books on a donkeys back"
"If they do you wrong, they invent a bad name for you, a good name for their acts, and then destroy you in the name of virtue."
"Slogans can be worse than swords if they are only put in the right mouths."
" I feel the cursing thought of the law and power. I had always felt the beneficence of law and power and never stopped to consider that it had any other side. It is a sword with two edges. Never mind whether it is directed against me honestly or not. That has nothing to do with its power to injure me."
"It seems like the first law of nature is that everybody likes to receive things, but nobody likes to feel grateful. And the very next law is that people talk about tenderness and mercy, but they love force."
"Don't they know, Joshua, that God himself can't save people who won't try to save themselves?"
"... leaders have to be people who give up things. They ain't made out of people who grab things."
"...you'll never be a leader. You are much too sensitive to the wishes of the people but you are too unconscious of their needs."
"I done found out from this that people can do an awful lot of feeling without doing a lick of thinking."
"You hate me at times for not being more interested in your stomachs than in your hearts."
"'This freedom is a funny thing,' he told them. 'It ain't something permanent like rocks and hills. It's like manna. You just got to keep on gathering it fresh everyday. If you don't, one day you're going to find you ain't got none no more.'"
"Happiness is nothing but everyday living seen through veil."
"It is so easy to mix up what you are wishing with what God is saying."
December 5, 2018
I’m not sure how to write a review for a book that feels so similar to reading the Bible. This is definitely one of those books I’ll come back to again in the future. It was not at all what I expected—an antebellum-era retelling of Exodus—but enjoyable and thought-provoking nonetheless. There were some powerful scenes, some sassy scenes, and some downright hilarious scenes in this. Zora, how do you do it?
May 9, 2017
An imaginative retelling of Moses' life's story, Zora Neale Hurston gives an alternative perspective to Moses' origins, motives, and miracles, and in the process, creates an allegory for African American emancipation and struggle for freedom in America.
Moses is given or feels a heavy duty-to free the Hebrews from Egypt. Despite his good intentions, his plans are challenged every step of the way, and more so by the very people he tries to help.
"It seems like the first law of Nature is that everybody likes to receive things, but nobody likes to feel grateful. And the very next law is that people talk about tenderness and mercy, but they love force. If you feed a thousand people you are a nice man with suspicious motives. If you kill a thousand you are a hero. Continue to get them killed by the thousands and you are a great conqueror, than which nothing on earth is greater. Oppress them and you are a great ruler. Rob them by law and they are proud and happy if you let them glimpse you occasionally surrounded by the riches that you have trampled out of their hides. You are truly divine if you meet their weakness with the sword to slay and the dogs to tear. The only time you run a great risk is when you serve them. The most repulsive thing to all men is gratitude. "
Yet Moses has his best friend and mentor, Jethro, his loving wife Zipporah, and his protege Joshua. With this support and his own conscience compelling him to lead, Moses perseveres until the end when he decides to live his last days in peace with his loved ones. The biggest lesson he wishes to impart to the Hebrews is that freedom and responsibility come hand-in-hand. Too often they complained because Moses led them to freedom but didn't provide for them. Moses countered that they needed to work to help themselves, and that was the way to truly enjoy their own independence.
My favorite line is: "the present was an egg laid by the past that had the future inside its shell."
Moses is given or feels a heavy duty-to free the Hebrews from Egypt. Despite his good intentions, his plans are challenged every step of the way, and more so by the very people he tries to help.
"It seems like the first law of Nature is that everybody likes to receive things, but nobody likes to feel grateful. And the very next law is that people talk about tenderness and mercy, but they love force. If you feed a thousand people you are a nice man with suspicious motives. If you kill a thousand you are a hero. Continue to get them killed by the thousands and you are a great conqueror, than which nothing on earth is greater. Oppress them and you are a great ruler. Rob them by law and they are proud and happy if you let them glimpse you occasionally surrounded by the riches that you have trampled out of their hides. You are truly divine if you meet their weakness with the sword to slay and the dogs to tear. The only time you run a great risk is when you serve them. The most repulsive thing to all men is gratitude. "
Yet Moses has his best friend and mentor, Jethro, his loving wife Zipporah, and his protege Joshua. With this support and his own conscience compelling him to lead, Moses perseveres until the end when he decides to live his last days in peace with his loved ones. The biggest lesson he wishes to impart to the Hebrews is that freedom and responsibility come hand-in-hand. Too often they complained because Moses led them to freedom but didn't provide for them. Moses countered that they needed to work to help themselves, and that was the way to truly enjoy their own independence.
My favorite line is: "the present was an egg laid by the past that had the future inside its shell."
June 21, 2014
I have wanted to read this book since I was a divinity student at Howard University. I was not disappointed. Hurston takes the biblical events and makes them her own - not a minor task. She brings forward the characters, the situations in an incredibly detailed and fascinating way. I know the story, but it was a could not put down read to see how it happened. I am not African American, so I cannot know how Hurston brought the African American experience to the story. I can say that I found both the familiar and the strange in the narrative, which of course, just means it was a good book. Highly recommended.
August 3, 2016
As always, Hurston's poetic prose is a delight to read. The mixture of biblical story and African American dialect I found powerful, changing how I felt about scenarios and characters, and leading me to draw parallels between the Civil Rights movement and American slavery to the Jews of Egypt and their plight. However the story, even though she certainly makes it her own, I found less captivating than her other novels. So for me, I loved reading this because I love reading Hurston, not because I loved the plot.
One gripe, the female characters are pretty much all materialistic and one dimensional.
One gripe, the female characters are pretty much all materialistic and one dimensional.
January 8, 2010
This book was selected for a book club I belong to. It's not my type of book. I had a hard time getting into the flow of the book - primarily because it was the biblical story of Moses. The hep black Harlem style of "talking" took some getting used reading.
In the end, I have to say I enjoyed the book. I was impressed how Hurston was able to fictionalize the story without loosing the basic Moses/Exodus story line. I realized that the biblical Moses story was probably somewhat fictionalized too. Sorry my fundamentalist friends.
In the end, I have to say I enjoyed the book. I was impressed how Hurston was able to fictionalize the story without loosing the basic Moses/Exodus story line. I realized that the biblical Moses story was probably somewhat fictionalized too. Sorry my fundamentalist friends.
August 12, 2012
LOVE LOVE LOVE this book! Just re-read it for at least the third time. I'm almost through with "The Warmth of Other Suns" and was compelled to re-read .. Ms. Hurston is one of my favorite authors; her forays into the South during the time of Jim Crow and her interpretation of the Exodus in light of what I am reading in Isabel Wikerson's brilliant history of the Great MIgration add another layer to her Hurston's telling of the bondage, exodus, and attempted unification as a people at a time of dictatorship. This book is a must read for so many reasons.
July 28, 2014
The book stayed pretty true to the actual book of Exodus, except parts where you had to actually revisit the Bible to reference if it was fact or fiction. I'm a big fan of Hurston, with this book being no exception. I especially love how she created a familiar Souther dialect for these people who reigned in the times of Ancient Egypt. Extremely create stuff that'll inspire many more creators in generations to come.
December 25, 2016
My favorite Hurston book. It's a wonderful narrative, and she is brilliant in the way she brings the Exodus story to characters in 20th century Harlem. Hurston allows you to see her criticism of relagion and of the shorcomings and frailties of Afrcian American people of that era, but does it in a way that is more endearing than demeaning.
I love this book, and find myself going back to it periodically, even though I've read it for three decades.
I love this book, and find myself going back to it periodically, even though I've read it for three decades.
June 5, 2008
A book about making your own emancipation. Hurston attempt to bridge the gap between the freedom of the individual and the freedom of a society. Also looks at how oppression can come from both within as well as outside a culture. Biblical stories told in southern dialect (with a well-played game of the dozens thrown in as well.)
May 11, 2015
This book is wonderful. As always, Hurston works magic with words. Her Moses is a lot more interesting than any Moses in my previous reading, but that is not surprising. The only surprising thing is that I never read this before. The author is pretty hard on human failings, so it is not all fun and games, but I found it very compelling.
July 3, 2020
The old familiar story of Exodus and the life of Moses as seen through the eyes of one of Florida's greatest writers is a treat. The themes of religion and slavery are inherent to any Moses story but what struck me was the undercurrent theme about the purpose of man. Hurston is bold.
June 8, 2014
My favorite Zora Neale Hurston book so far. The Moses story told from a Harlem Renaissance 1939 Africa American perspective. Very interesting insights. I would have liked it better if it had been more faithful to the Biblical Moses account, but very good none the less.
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