''Not Without Laughter'' is the

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

by Langston Hughes published in

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will b ...

Plot introduction

''Not Without Laughter'' portrays

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

life in Kansas in the 1910s, focusing on the effects of class and religion on the community. The main storyline focuses on Sandy's "awakening to the sad and the beautiful realities of black life in a small

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

town."

Characters

*James "Sandy" Rodgers *Jimboy Rodgers – Sandy's father, Annjee's husband *Annjelica "Annjee" Rodgers – Sandy's mother, wife of Jimboy *Aunt Hager Williams – Annjee's mother and Sandy's grandmother *Tempy Siles/Williams – Annjee's sister *Mr. Siles – Tempy's husband *Harriett Williams – sister of Annjee *Maudel Smothers – friend of Harriett *Willie-Mae Johnson – friend of Sandy

Background

Hughes said that ''Not Without Laughter'' is semi-autobiographical, and that a good portion of the characters and setting included in the novel are based on his memories of growing up in Lawrence, Kansas: "I wanted to write about a typical Negro family in the Middle West, about people like those I had known in Kansas. But mine was not a typical Negro family."

Reception

A review in the New York Times on August 3, 1930 stated: " "Not Without Laughter" is very slow, even tedious, reading in its early chapters, but once it gains its momentum it moves as swiftly as a jazz rhythm. Its characters, emerging ever more clearly and challenging as the novel proceeds, gives it this rhythm. Every character in the novel, it can be said, with the exception of Tempy and Mr. Siles, is a living challenge to our civilization, a challenge that is all the more effective because it springs naturally out of its materials and is not superimposed upon them."

References

1930 American novels Works by Langston Hughes Random House books African-American novels Novels set in Kansas 1930 debut novels {{1930s-novel-stub