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lonestarwords 's review for:
Not Without Laughter
by Langston Hughes
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
...a poet who writes fiction can imbue his prose with a considerable amount of magic.
Angela Flournoy
Introduction
Not Without Laughter
Langston Hughes
•
I have to admit that I have only ever read Langston Hughes’ poetry as that is what I was exposed to in my English studies.
•
I began this as an audiobook but struggled with both the vernacular and what felt like a very slow pace. My daughter had a physical copy of the book and so I began reading. There is an introduction in the Penguin Classics Edition by Angela Flournoy and I found it so helpful. Once I got a better grasp on the novel overall, my experience with it became more meaningful.
•
I opened with a quote from the intro because as I read noticed the word choices and combinations Hughes uses elevates this story - if you didn't know he was a poet before reading it you definitely would when you were done.
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Set in Kansas in the 1930s, Not Without Laughter reads like a coming of age story and is centered around Sandy Rogers and his family. But it's also a story about the great migration of black families out of the south after emancipation and I learned a lot about that via Flournoy's intro. I don’t know that I’ve read another novel about that part of history.
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Hughes created an incredibly vivid setting via his transportive prose and I was blown away by how immersive the story became. This is one sad book but what is remarkable is that along with the infinite sadness, it remains hopeful. But the reality for Sandy’s future is heartbreaking and the fact that this was written almost 100 years and we still have so far to go is shocking.
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Not Without Laughter illustrates that families are all alike - parents want greater opportunities for their children than they had and children’s minds are full of dreams. That's why literature is so important - not only as a reminder of time and place but as a way to step into someone else's experience through the power of words.
Angela Flournoy
Introduction
Not Without Laughter
Langston Hughes
•
I have to admit that I have only ever read Langston Hughes’ poetry as that is what I was exposed to in my English studies.
•
I began this as an audiobook but struggled with both the vernacular and what felt like a very slow pace. My daughter had a physical copy of the book and so I began reading. There is an introduction in the Penguin Classics Edition by Angela Flournoy and I found it so helpful. Once I got a better grasp on the novel overall, my experience with it became more meaningful.
•
I opened with a quote from the intro because as I read noticed the word choices and combinations Hughes uses elevates this story - if you didn't know he was a poet before reading it you definitely would when you were done.
•
Set in Kansas in the 1930s, Not Without Laughter reads like a coming of age story and is centered around Sandy Rogers and his family. But it's also a story about the great migration of black families out of the south after emancipation and I learned a lot about that via Flournoy's intro. I don’t know that I’ve read another novel about that part of history.
•
Hughes created an incredibly vivid setting via his transportive prose and I was blown away by how immersive the story became. This is one sad book but what is remarkable is that along with the infinite sadness, it remains hopeful. But the reality for Sandy’s future is heartbreaking and the fact that this was written almost 100 years and we still have so far to go is shocking.
•
Not Without Laughter illustrates that families are all alike - parents want greater opportunities for their children than they had and children’s minds are full of dreams. That's why literature is so important - not only as a reminder of time and place but as a way to step into someone else's experience through the power of words.