HITTING A STRAIGHT LICK WITH A CROOKED STICK

by Zora Neale Hurston

Like many readers I suspect, my only Zora Neale Hurston experience was reading (and loving) Their Eyes Were Watching God in high school. Although I remember truly enjoying the book, I didn’t remember much about the author, and so was glad to find this short story collection comes with a lengthy intro.  It reminded me about her rise to fame at a time when Black fiction was scarce and Black, female authors almost entirely unknown.  The intro also briefly outlines the origin, style and significance of each of the stories in the book, which I found extremely useful and interesting given that many had been previously lost or were unknown.

Hurston sets most of her stories during the Harlem Renaissance in New York and during the same time period in rural Florida and gives detailed and dramatic snapshots of the lives of Black people, particularly their romantic and marital relationships. Hurston uses pitch-perfect dialect and vivid descriptions to totally immerse you in each little world so that each story feels complete.  She also plays with style writing several stories as though they are from the Bible, specifically  “The Book of Harlem.” 

Hitting A Straight Lick With A Crooked Stickrefers to the sly way that Hurston is able to comment on and criticize some of the stereotypes and situations she offers up, often in comic ways.  She has something important to say about marriages and violence in Black communities, but only if you are listening.  Hurston is a superb writer and it was an absolute joy to immerse myself in these, her earliest works. (Lily)