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Zora Neale Hurston

Tell My Horse: Voodoo and Life in Haiti and Jamaica

Zora Neale HurstonNonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1938

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Before You Read

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Super Short Summary

In Tell My Horse, Zora Neale Hurston explores African diasporic culture and customs in the Caribbean, drawing from her fieldwork in Jamaica and Haiti. She delves into rituals, beliefs, and Voodoo practices, examining gender, power dynamics, and racial inequalities. Hurston describes ceremonies, funeral rites, and the pantheon of Voodoo deities, while providing historical context on Haiti’s political turmoil and societal structure. The narrative includes depictions of sexual violence, abuse, and discrimination.

Reviews & Readership

4.3

3,023 ratings

76%

Loved it

19%

Mixed feelings

5%

Not a fan

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Review Roundup

Zora Neale Hurston's Tell My Horse offers a rich immersion into Jamaican and Haitian cultures, voodoo practices, and folktales. Praised for its vivid storytelling and anthropological insight, the book faces criticism for a lack of objective analysis and some ethnographic inaccuracies. Overall, it remains a vital, if imperfect, cultural document.

Who should read this

Who Should Read Tell My Horse?

Readers who cherish anthropological works intertwined with storytelling and African American culture will be captivated by Zora Neale Hurston’s Tell My Horse. Fans of Hurston’s own Their Eyes Were Watching God or Alice Walker’s In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens will find this blend of travel narrative and ethnographic study particularly engaging.

Book Details
Pages

311

Format

Book • Nonfiction

Setting

Haiti, Jamaica • 1930s

Publication Year

1938

Audience

Adult

Recommended Reading Age

18+ years

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