Scott reviewed Tell my horse by Zora Neale Hurston
Review of 'Tell my horse' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
A jumble of a book with diary, travelogue, political commentary, and ethnography mashed together. I know it's not hip to not fawn over Zora Neale Hurston, but unless you really want to know about vodou in Haiti in 1937, I wouldn't recommend this book.
She deserves a significant amount of credit for her copious documentation of vodou ceremonies and songs, and for treating the religion with respect (as opposed to the sensationalist white writers of the time). But the book is lacking in context for vodou practices, the political analysis is way off, and even though she is respectful, she herself does wander into generalizations when discussing Haitian-ness, and sensationalism when discussing zombies, cannibals, possessions, etc.
