Narrated by Aunjanue Ellis, Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick by Zora Neale Hurston has a runtime of 8 hrs 57 mins on Audible.
Publisher’s Summary
From “one of the greatest writers of our time” (Toni Morrison)—the author of Barracoon and Their Eyes Were Watching God—a collection of remarkable stories, including eight “lost” Harlem Renaissance tales now available to a wide audience for the first time.
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In 1925, Barnard student Zora Neale Hurston—the sole black student at the college—was living in New York, “desperately striving for a toe-hold on the world.” During this period, she began writing short works that captured the zeitgeist of African American life and transformed her into one of the central figures of the Harlem Renaissance. Nearly a century later, this singular talent is recognized as one of the most influential and revered American artists of the modern period.
Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick is an outstanding collection of stories about love and migration, gender and class, racism and sexism that proudly reflect African American folk culture. Brought together for the first time in one volume, they include eight of Hurston’s “lost” Harlem stories, which were found in forgotten periodicals and archives. These stories challenge conceptions of Hurston as an author of rural fiction and include gems that flash with her biting, satiric humor, as well as more serious tales reflective of the cultural currents of Hurston’s world. All are timeless classics that enrich our understanding and appreciation of this exceptional writer’s voice and her contributions to America’s literary traditions.
Audiobook Details
- Narrated by: Aunjanue Ellis
- Length: 8 hrs 57 mins
- Publisher: Amistad
- Release year: 2020
- Audible category: Literature & Fiction / Anthologies & Short Stories / Short Stories
Listener Ratings
Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick holds an average listener rating of 4.5/5 from 656 Audible ratings.
On Audible, ratings for this title break down into narration performance and story separately:
- Performance (narration): 4.8/5
- Story: 4.5/5
- 5-star ratings: 65% of all ratings
What Audible Listeners Are Saying
4/5 stars — “Great storytelling.”
Some of the stories are hard to digest but enjoyed overall. I laughed a lot.— Felicia, Audible listener
5/5 stars — “Wonderfully Performed”
Aunjanue Ellis brought these words to life! Excellent performance of this collection of witty short stories. Kudos to Ms. Hurston. Each character and storyline were phenomenal! Great listen…— jamaica ivery-glover, Audible listener
5/5 stars — “Real Life Situations!!”
We did this as a small group book review. We laughed & related this to personal , family & friends situations. It was also written as it was related to biblical times. overall, a very good read.— Audible customer, Audible listener
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