First published 2020
In Eatonville, Florida, a woman trades what she has to build something new. She calculates each exchange, weighs each possibility. A man walks the dusty roads asking questions about his father. He follows rumors and half-remembered stories. These neighbors face choices that cut deep. Race shapes their options. Class limits their moves. Gender sets the rules they must break or bend. Hurston shows how people laugh when crying would be easier. She captures the exact words they use, the gestures that say everything. A community emerges through individual struggles. People clash over money, love, and respect. They also lift each other up when the weight becomes too much. Each story reveals how survival requires both cunning and heart. The characters find ways to win even when the game seems rigged against them.
Genres: fiction, american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, american, african-american, contemporary, african-american-historical-fiction
Vibes: emotional, intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, social-commentary
Setting: Eatonville, Florida
Period: 20th-century
303 pages · Kindle Edition · HQ