Page "Their Eyes Were Watching God" Paragraph 22

Meanwhile, reviews of Hurston's book in the mainstream White press were largely positive, although they did not translate into significant retail sales.

Writing for the New York Times, Ralph Thompson states, “ the normal life of Negroes in the South today – the life with its holdovers from slave times, its social difficulties, childish excitements, and endless exuberances … compared to this sort of story, the ordinary narratives of Negroes in Harlem or Birmingham seem ordinary indeed .” For the New York Herald Tribune, Sheila Hibben described Hurston as writing “ with her head as with her heart ” creating a “ warm, vibrant touch .” She praised Their Eyes as filled with “ a flashing, gleaming riot of black people, with a limitless sense of humor, and a wild, strange sadness .” New York Times critic Lucille Tompkins described Their Eyes, “ It is about Negroes … but really it is about every one, or at least every one who isn ’ t so civilized that he has lost the capacity for glory .”