Stormy Weather

By: Paulette Jiles

Narrated by: Colleen Delany

From Paulette Jiles comes a poignant and unforgettable story of hardship, sacrifice, and strength in a tragic time—and a desperate dream born of an undying faith in the arrival of a better day.

Oil is king of East Texas during the darkest years of the Great Depression. The Stoddard girls know no life but an itinerant one, trailing their father from town to town as he searches for work on the pipelines and derricks. And in every small town, mother Elizabeth does her level best to make each sparse, temporary house they inhabit a home.

But the fall of 1937 ushers in a year of devastating drought and dust storms, and the family's fortunes sink further when a questionable ""accident"" leaves Elizabeth and her girls alone to confront the cruelest hardships of these hardest of times. With no choice left to them, they return to the abandoned family farm.

It is Jeanine Stoddard who devotes herself to rebuilding the farm and their lives. But hard work and good intentions won't make ends meet. In desperation, the Stoddard women place their last hopes for salvation in a wildcat oil well and on the back of late patriarch Jack's one true legacy, a dangerous racehorse named Smoky Joe. And Jeanine must decide if she will gamble it all . . . on love.

Lovely, enjoyable, great lead character.

Not as good as News of the World but an enjoyable read with 2 great lead characters. Refreshing to have a strong female character at the helm of this story!

Survival

Love the strong female characters especially Jenne. The distribution of the hardships during the dust bowl put you really get there. What I didn’t like was so many side characters it was hard to see how they contribute to the story line.

Interesting, unpredictable and defined a local era

The characters are well developed and interesting. The story is sad with happy moments. The characters have strength to survive the era and their predicament.
Well written, creative, poetic, easy to follow, well read.
Highly recommended.

Gives Grapes of Wrath a great companion!!!

Where does Stormy Weather rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Certainly in the top ten. I only wish it was longer. I learned a lot about the Texas oil fields of the thirties! It was a great listen. The performance was well done. I am not sure that this is historical fiction but I very much enjoy how it interleaves the characters with the current issues of the great depression. I could feel like I was there and that is the magic of a good book!

What other book might you compare Stormy Weather to and why?

Grapes of Wrath

What about Colleen Delany’s performance did you like?

She did a very good job with this book!

Great Writer, Meet Great Narrator

Paulette Jiles is one of the most talented writers I've ever had the pleasure of listening to and reading. Stormy Weather is my fifth Jiles novel, and I loved them all, however what made this one extra special is narrator Colleen Delany. I can't recall another narrator who so perfectly and distinctly portrayed every voice. Her rendition of the protagonist really made me fall for her. I searched to find what other books she's narrated, but unfortunately they're all multi-reader fantasy productions, not my cup of tea. Someone, anyone, please take advantage of this talented narrator and expand her field of genres.