Not Without Laughter

Published in 1930, near the end of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes's Not Without Laughter is a coming-of-age narrative about James "Sandy" Rogers, an African-American boy from the small Kansas town of Stanton. Loosely based on Hughes's own childhood in Kansas, the novel traces the challenges of African-American life in the Midwest during the years leading up to World War I.

The novel opens with a cyclone that rips the porch from the house of Hager Williams, Sandy's grandmother. The family survives the cyclone, but the years that follow widen the fractures in the family until it shatters. Harriet, Hager's youngest, rejects Hager's Christianity, insists on quitting school and her job, sneaks into town, and stays out all night.

Meanwhile, Annjee, another of Hager's daughters and Sandy's mother, struggles with her job as a domestic and dreams of following her frequently absent husband, Jimboy, as he goes from place to place in search of work and variety. Jimboy finally writes from Kansas City to tell them he is coming home after injuring his back.

Although Annjee, Harriet, and Sandy are excited about his return, Hager is not since she considers him a lazy man who does little to support her daughter and grandson.