The award-winning first novel by the legendary Harlem Renaissance poet
In small-town Kansas at the turn of the twentieth century, Sandy Rogers is a young Black boy growing up surrounded by family. His mother, Annjee, works as a housekeeper for a wealthy white family while his father, Jimboy, comes in and out of town, bringing his guitar with him, and his grandmother, Hager, tries to keep the whole family right in the eyes of God. Amid the many hardships of these years of great change, Sandy learns what it means to be a member of the complex society he’s inherited.
First published in 1930, Langston Hughes's award-winning debut novel draws from the author’s childhood in the rural Midwest to paint a moving account of the trials and joys of life in Black communities that, until the novel’s publication, had not seen themselves reflected in American literature. A groundbreaking work, Not Without Laughter established Langston Hughes as a gifted novelist as well as a beloved poet.
“Langston Hughes is a titanic figure in 20th-century American literature . . . A powerful interpreter of the American experience.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer
“[Hughes] is sumptuous and sharp, playful and sparse, grounded in an earthy music.” —The Boston Globe
“[Hughes’s] poetry has a pulse, a beauty and familiar kindness. . . . Much of it delights, even dazzles. His best work sticks with you—forever.” —Cleveland Plain Dealer
"A lyrical, charming, and moving story of a black Midwestern boy." —Arnold Rampersad on Not Without Laughter
The award-winning first novel by the legendary Harlem Renaissance poet
In small-town Kansas at the turn of the twentieth century, Sandy Rogers is a young Black boy growing up surrounded by family. His mother, Annjee, works as a housekeeper for a wealthy white family while his father, Jimboy, comes in and out of town, bringing his guitar with him, and his grandmother, Hager, tries to keep the whole family right in the eyes of God. Amid the many hardships of these years of great change, Sandy learns what it means to be a member of the complex society he’s inherited.
First published in 1930, Langston Hughes's award-winning debut novel draws from the author’s childhood in the rural Midwest to paint a moving account of the trials and joys of life in Black communities that, until the novel’s publication, had not seen themselves reflected in American literature. A groundbreaking work, Not Without Laughter established Langston Hughes as a gifted novelist as well as a beloved poet.
Praise
“Langston Hughes is a titanic figure in 20th-century American literature . . . A powerful interpreter of the American experience.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer
“[Hughes] is sumptuous and sharp, playful and sparse, grounded in an earthy music.” —The Boston Globe
“[Hughes’s] poetry has a pulse, a beauty and familiar kindness. . . . Much of it delights, even dazzles. His best work sticks with you—forever.” —Cleveland Plain Dealer
"A lyrical, charming, and moving story of a black Midwestern boy." —Arnold Rampersad on Not Without Laughter
