"Lowe has written what may well be the Hurston book for the years to come." -- Werner Sollors, Harvard University "Lowe's study . . . smartly begins with the assumption that one reason for the stunning popularity of Hurston's work is the verve with which it addresses serious subjects in a comic style." -- Cheryl A. Wall, editor of Changing Our Own Words: Essays on Criticism, Theory, and Writing by Black Women "Appreciative of Hurston's 'bodacious' humor, Lowe argues that she is 'a profoundly serious, experimental, subversive, and therefore unsettling artist.' . . . Strongly recommended." -- Choice "A trailblazing effort, a work that will enrich our understanding of Hurston's fiction." -- William R. Nash, The Southern Literary Journal "The most important booklength contribution to Hurston scholarship since Robert Hemenway published his biography in 1978." -- Will Brantley, Contemporary Literature