50 pages • 1 hour read •
Tell My Horse: Voodoo and Life in Haiti and Jamaica
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Book Brief
311
Book • Nonfiction
Haiti, Jamaica • 1930s
1938
HarperCollins
Adult
18+ years
Super Short Summary
In Tell My Horse, Zora Neale Hurston explores African diasporic culture and customs in the Caribbean, drawing from her fieldwork in Jamaica and Haiti. She delves into rituals, beliefs, and Voodoo practices, examining gender, power dynamics, and racial inequalities. Hurston describes ceremonies, funeral rites, and the pantheon of Voodoo deities, while providing historical context on Haiti’s political turmoil and societal structure. The narrative includes depictions of sexual violence, abuse, and discrimination.
Informative
Mysterious
Fantastical
Contemplative
Emotional
Reviews & Readership
3,023 ratings
Loved it
Mixed feelings
Not a fan
Review Roundup
Zora Neale Hurston's Tell My Horse offers a rich immersion into Jamaican and Haitian cultures, voodoo practices, and folktales. Praised for its vivid storytelling and anthropological insight, the book faces criticism for a lack of objective analysis and some ethnographic inaccuracies. Overall, it remains a vital, if imperfect, cultural document.
Who Should Read Tell My Horse?
Readers who cherish anthropological works intertwined with storytelling and African American culture will be captivated by Zora Neale Hurston’s Tell My Horse. Fans of Hurston’s own Their Eyes Were Watching God or Alice Walker’s In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens will find this blend of travel narrative and ethnographic study particularly engaging.
3,023 ratings
Loved it
Mixed feelings
Not a fan
Tell My Horse is a blend of travelogue and ethnographic study, where Zora Neale Hurston explores the cultural practices and religious rituals of Haiti and Jamaica during the late 1930s.
The book uniquely combines Zora Neale Hurston's role as an anthropologist and storyteller, offering readers a vivid portrayal of Caribbean voodoo practices, which she directly observed and participated in.
Tell My Horse is regarded as an important work in African American literature, providing insight into the syncretic religions of the Caribbean and showcasing Hurston's distinctive narrative style and anthropological work.
Tell My Horse is a blend of travelogue and ethnographic study, where Zora Neale Hurston explores the cultural practices and religious rituals of Haiti and Jamaica during the late 1930s.
The book uniquely combines Zora Neale Hurston's role as an anthropologist and storyteller, offering readers a vivid portrayal of Caribbean voodoo practices, which she directly observed and participated in.
Subscribe to discover more Fun Facts!
Tell My Horse is regarded as an important work in African American literature, providing insight into the syncretic religions of the Caribbean and showcasing Hurston's distinctive narrative style and anthropological work.
Subscribe to discover more Fun Facts!
311
Book • Nonfiction
Haiti, Jamaica • 1930s
1938
HarperCollins
Adult
18+ years
Continue your reading experience
Subscribe now to unlock the rest of this Study Guide plus our full library, which features expert-written summaries and analyses of 8,000+ additional titles.