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.

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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.