They say that when you finish a book, you lose a friend; however I never felt this way. Then the other day, a wise person wrote online that when you finish a book, you do not lose a friend, but you gain a friend. He put in words exactly how I feel! Tonight, those words rang true as I opened to reread Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. I had read it years ago, but I could not remember anything about it. Yet, when I opened the first page, the words brought back the warm feeling of the memory of me loving the first sentences, including, "[...] his dreams mocked to death by Time." What a beautiful and sobering line!

It goes to show that when we read a book, we never lose a friend. We gain a friend. Even if time and life takes us far enough from the words we had read in the past as to not remember the details, the moment we reopen the pages, we realize that the experience and the friendship has always been there, no matter how many years have passed. According to science, books are not alive; however, ask any book lover and they will tell you that books become alive in the hearts and minds of those who read them.

You have to read this story of Janie and Tea-Cake. Yes, the dialect is difficult, but I promise it gets much easier with the turn of every page that you would almost be ready to speak it yourself and you do not even feel the difficulty anymore. For me, this... this is a story of broken dreams being mended and lost lives found again in the experience of love. A story of adversity in the aftermath of slavery, and a story of hope. A story of learning to live and love, and of immense grief. A story of collective history and a story of finding individual independence. I am not sure I even know what to say or how to characterize this story. It is a gorgeous story that encompasses so many themes within it! The writing is remarkable and so poignant! Some passages just take your breath away. This is a book that comes a full circle: It ends back where it began, and I find this impressive!