Review of Life's Ragin Storms

[Shirley Ann Riddern Labzentis]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Life's Ragin Storms" by Dexter Harrison.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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Dexter Harrison writes Life’s Raging Storms, which takes place mainly in Creole, Louisiana, in Cameron Parish. The main focus of the book centers on the Bartie family and their daughter, Wanita, also known as Nita. She is very pretty, light-skinned, and very intelligent. She is the oldest daughter of Bean and Bryant, who were very poor but continued to have one baby after another. It seems that many families in Cameron Parish had multiple children, even though they often wondered if they would have enough food for the next day. Rice and beans, sometimes accompanied by homemade bread, were the most affordable meal and were served several times a week. No one ever refused an offer of food, regardless of the type of food. Nita eventually became the first person in the family to graduate from high school and go on to college. 

The first half of the book was rather monotonous as far as I was concerned. There was a lot of unnecessary banter between the characters that made me think a few times, “So what? Where is this headed?” A great many characters were introduced in some of the chapters, along with their numerous children. I could not keep track of everyone. This was the only thing that I disliked about the book.

The second half of the book picked up speed and became very exciting and interesting, finally revealing what the title meant. The language could be difficult to understand at times because it was rooted in the Deep South. There was very little profanity and no sexual activities described. The families were very poor, and they made their lives out of almost nothing. This was truly commendable, and you sometimes wondered how people could survive under such circumstances.

All in all, I did enjoy reading this story of triumph and determination. I learned that you should never let go, no matter what. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the ways poor people in the South coped during the mid-century period. It teaches you to be thankful for what you have and not look down on the unfortunate or the color of one’s skin. I learned that other Black people judge some Black people because of the amount of pigment that they have in their skin.

I am going to rate it 4 out of 5 stars. I am deducting a star due to the unnecessary banter and the numerous characters with their multiple children, all of whom are named. I did not need to know the names of their thirteen children, as the character only appeared briefly in the book.

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Life's Ragin Storms
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[Kibet Hillary]

I am glad that the main lesson of the book is to never give up regardless of the seemingly insurmountable obstacles that one may come across in life. I would be glad to read and learn more about the characters and how they demonstrate this essential lesson. Thanks for the review, @Shirley Ann Riddern Labzentis.