Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Not Without Laughter
    Unavailable
    Not Without Laughter
    Unavailable
    Not Without Laughter
    Ebook319 pages5 hours

    Not Without Laughter

    By Langston Hughes

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    Listen to the audiobook instead

    About this ebook

    A shining star of the Harlem Renaissance movement, Langston Hughes is one of modern literature's most revered African-American authors. Although best known for his poetry, Hughes produced in Not Without Laughter a powerful and pioneering classic novel.
    This stirring coming-of-age tale unfolds in 1930s rural Kansas. A poignant portrait of African-American family life in the early twentieth century, it follows the story of young Sandy Rogers as he grows from a boy to a man. We meet Sandy's mother, Annjee, who works as a housekeeper for a wealthy white family; his strong-willed grandmother, Hager; Jimboy, Sandy's father, who travels the country looking for work; Aunt Tempy, the social climber; and Aunt Harriet, the blues singer who has turned away from her faith.
    A fascinating chronicle of a family's joys and hardships, Not Without Laughter is a vivid exploration of growing up and growing strong in a racially divided society. A rich and important work, it masterfully echoes the black American experience.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDover Publications
    Release dateMar 5, 2012
    ISBN9780486113906
    Author

    Langston Hughes

    Langston Hughes (1902-67) was born in Joplin, Missouri, was educated at Lincoln University, and lived for most of his life in New York City. He is best known as a poet, but he also wrote novels, biography, history, plays, and children's books. Among his works are two volumes of memoirs, The Big Sea and I Wonder as I Wander, and two collections of Simple stories, The Best of Simple and The Return of Simple.

    Read more from Langston Hughes

    Related to Not Without Laughter

    Titles in the series (60)

    View More
    View More

    Related ebooks

    Classics For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    Reviews for Not Without Laughter

    3.5/5

    8 ratings6 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      I really liked this story. No violence, no nasty language or usage. The times described were nasty to a large group of Americans but the telling was gentle. I thought that perhaps Mr. Hughes got bored with his story about three quarters of the way through and then picked up his enthusiasm for it closer to the end. He never went back during the editing and juiced it back up but the story didn't suffer much for that. I'm aware that Mr. Hughes is primarily thought of as a poet. His prose is very good too and I wish there were more of it.
    • 4/5
      Still brilliant after all these years, and gives more insight into the lives of black people back then (1930s) than most other books of this kind.
    • 4/5
      Really enjoyed this story about a young African American boy growing up in the mid west and all his struggles and experiences. Mostly raised by his Grandmother who instills values, love and discipline, life was not easy, but the reader is left hopeful in the end.
    • 4/5
      interesting social study of a young black American boy, Sandy, brought up mainly by his hardworking grandmother Hager, a laundrywoman, his mother Anjee and two very different aunts, the rebel Harriett who becomes a jazz singer, and snobbish Tempy - written with a poetic, music-filled voice, ending on a note of hope. This is a very beautiful edition.
    • 5/5
      I had no idea that Langston Hughes had written a novel. I really enjoy his poetry, so I was very excited to find this book.It is the coming-of-age story of an Africa American boy in Kansas during the early Twentieth Century. Since I'm not African American, I don't really know what that experience is like, but this felt very genuine. It felt as if Hughes perhaps drew on his own early experiences. This novel has a lot of heart, and there also seems to be a certain rhythm to the writing which I loved.
    • 4/5
      Sandy is Anjee’s young son. They live in Stanton, Kansas with his grandmother, Aunt Hager, and Aunt Harriet. Aunt Hager washes, dries and irons her white neighbors’ laundry while trying to keep her family whole. Anjee works as a cook/housekeeper in an unappreciative white family’s home in town while missing her wandering, irresponsible husband, and Harriet attends high school and is growing up too fast. Life is hard but folks keep their spirits up: the older blacks turn to church and acceptance, the younger vent by rebelliously dancing and drinking all night. Sandy learns the good, bad and the in-between in both whites and blacks. He sees the beauty of the black spirit in all its forms, and how education will bring change and equality. Hughes’ first novel is a testament to his range of writing skill. Adept at capturing mood, conveying feelings; he plays language more brilliantly than Jimboy plays guitar. Unassumingly beautiful and powerful!