Books and beyond

You can’t judge a book by its cover, but it was the cover of Stormy Weather, by Paulette Jiles, that attracted me to the book in the first place. It caught my attention but I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to read a story about, what I thought would be, another dysfunctional family. I decided to apply the Rule of 50 and try it and I was hooked before long.

Set in the 1930’s, an itinerant family moves from oil field to oil field. The father throws away his earnings gambling and drinking, leaving the family in distress. His middle daughter, Jeanine, accompanies him on his nightly sojourns and provides yet another source of conflict within the family. The father’s lifestyle, misfortune, and ultimate demise plagues them but once he’s gone, Jeanine’s experiences out in the world help them survive. The three sisters and mother return to their old abandoned homestead. Jeanine is determined to transform their lives, even when it means parting with her beloved race horse, a legacy from her father. The horse and his buyer remain in her life, though, but that’s only part of the story.

Each of the women brings their own strengths and abilities to the family and by pulling together, they all to contribute to their collective and individual success. I enjoyed the characters, the author’s writing style, and the storyline. Paulette Jiles is also an award-winning poet, a memoirist, and the author of other novels of historical fiction. Look for this title at the library in print, book on disc, and as an ebook for Kindles and other E-readers.