Stormy Weather

Colleen Delany brings out the strength of character in three women who struggle to survive the Depression in Texas. Delany's drawl rings as true as the author's research, and her narration adds to the local color that is so much a part of the story. Delany differentiates the Stoddard daughters with varying tonality. Writer Bea is dreamy; Mayme is practical. The focus character is Jeanine, beloved by her late father, a charming, alcoholic gambler. Delany portrays Jeanine as a complex character, showing her determination when she fights for her family and her confusion as she tries to choose what she really wants in life. S.W. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

March 12, 2007
Jiles's eloquent, engaging sophomore novel celebrates four strong women toughing out the Great Depression in the Texas dust bowl. As the book opens in 1927, Elizabeth Stoddard and husband Jack have three daughters: the pretty Mayme, the tomboyish Jeanine and the writerly Bea. Jeanine, resented for being daddy's favorite, soon becomes the novel's primary point of view. After the disgraced Jack dies in 1937, the four Stoddard women move back to the 150-acre homeplace on the Brazos River in Central Texas. Drought, hail and dust storms, land-tax debts and grinding poverty make life a struggle; radio shows, horse-racing, wildcat oil well speculation and stuttering news reporter friend Milton Brown provide diversions. Jeanine falls in love with local rancher Ross Everett; Mayme dates soldier Vernon. Visceral detail of the 1930s rancher life and the hardscrabble setting add authenticity, particularly in the characters' feel for horses. While forthright, some of the dialogue is less than believable (as when Ross compliments Jeanine on her "furious bloody purple" dress), but it serves the characters' greater-than-usual emotional bandwidth. Jiles winds this gritty saga up on the eve of WWII with a patchwork quilt's worth of hope.

December 15, 2007
Like the oil desperately needed during the Great Depression, "Stormy Weather" is a slow gathering of hope underneath the surface. The Stoddard women's story coalesces after the death of the sole male in the family, who has left them little besides a wild racehorse named Smoky Joe, a tenuous belief in wildcat oil wells, and the ability to fend for themselves in the dustbowl of East Texas. Daughter Jeanine is the true heroine of the tale, but her mother and sisters provide a strong portrait of the diverse women of the era. Well read by Colleen Delany, the novel straddles romance and history and is recommended for audiences who prefer those genres.Joyce Kessel, Villa Maria Coll., Buffalo, NY

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