Stormy Weather Comfort Read
It happens every summer. A hurricane churns somewhere in the Gulf, or rather, as we all hope, a storm that somehow disperses before it can really be called a hurricane. A storm that can’t get its act together. A disorganized formation. Wait, are they talking about me?
Living on the Gulf Coast has its perks (most of these are notable in the beautiful months of November and March, and rather elusive in summer), but it is definitely not for the faint of heart. If you hate the unrelenting heat, you might find little comfort in the wet, windy, and rather unpredictable breaks we get from it, as these come with their own unique brand of anxiety. Will we have just a storm or something considerably more lethal? Will the power go out? Will the roof be blown away and the house float in muddy waters until we all get devoured by alligators? Or perhaps we’ll just perish in bumper to bumper traffic as we try to get away and run out of gas, water and the will to live? Don’t think I’m being too dramatic. In this day and age, a hurricane might mostly cause damage and inconvenience, but it can still kill a gal. The Gulf Coast is wild and beautiful, but every now and then, nature reminds us all that we are much more vulnerable than we’d like to acknowledge.
I don’t mean to scare anyone. Then again, it’s dangerous to be entirely too relaxed. To live, survive, and thrive here (even in the summer!), I recommend finding the perfect balance of being alert and prepared yet not devoured by panic. It’s that last little bit I want to help out with. I’m not here to lecture on water and flashlights, radios and evacuation routes (though all these are important, obviously). I’m here instead to advise that if you are to keep your cool, your humor, and your will to live, you should have appropriate entertainment and nourishment for your mind. Let me introduce you to my stormy weather comfort read: Storms of Malhado by Maria Elena Sandovici. This is a historical novel with slight paranormal elements set on Galveston Island, in which characters with eerily similar destinies face deadly hurricanes on Galveston Island through three different historical eras.
Do You Have a Hurricane Ritual?
Ok, now that I’ve told you about my stormy weather comfort read, let me explain how I’ve built a whole ritual around it. Hopefully this will inspire you to do something similar, adapted to your own personality and preferences, of course. Rituals are great because they bring us comfort. But they are acts of magic too. Maybe together, even without ever meeting, we can ritual so hard we keep the stupid storms from forming into full-fledged hurricanes.
My ritual consists of baking a chocolate cake the night before a storm is expected to hit, all while listening to Storms of Malhado on audible. Of course, I would have stocked up on the more boring storm supplies by then, but a chocolate cake is bound to keep nicely even if the power goes out, and one should have a treat on hand in a dire situation, not just canned beans, tuna, and sad instant coffee. Also, a chocolate cake will make your house smell good, the ritual of making it is soothing but not too taxing (I go for an easy recipe, but one I like), and chocolate cake goes really well with Storms of Malhado because it’s something Edna, one of my favorite characters in the story, makes very often.
Why the 1960s Chapters of Storms of Malhado Are My Favorites
Which brings me to telling you about my favorite time period in the book. I love the part of the story that’s set in the 1960s. There’s something really compelling to me about the aesthetic of that decade, which I really love, and how it clashed with the social and political tensions of those times, when people had to fight for both racial justice and gender equality. Especially the early sixties are a very interesting time to read about, as the outward appearance of domestic bliss clashes with the claustrophobic social dynamics of those times. Segregation was still in place, and tensions brewed between those set to ignore its unfairness and those willing to risk their freedom and even their lives to challenge the status quo. Meanwhile women were expected to be well coiffed, stylishly dressed, forever smiling, and feign domestic bliss while completely ignoring their own dreams, desires, and even opinions.
Galveston is an interesting setting for a story set in the 1960s, where characters struggle with their own roles in accepting or changing social norms. As a small town where people know each other, it seems to be an especially claustrophobic setting for those aspiring to transcend racial and gender barriers. As a sleepy coastal community, it also seems to be the type of place where change is unlikely to occur anytime soon. Yet, against all odds, Galveston Island was actually a pioneer in the fight against segregation. In 1961, a group of African American high school students in Galveston made history by being served burgers at a previously segregated lunch counter. Their efforts had been encouraged and subsidized by a strong and well organized African American community, including many successful businesses owners. About a week later, the same group of students were arrested at Dairy Queen on Broadway. One step forward, two steps back.
Given its complexity, Galveston Island is a perfect place to showcase some of the tensions and contradictions of the times. In the 1960s chapters of Storms of Malhado, the author, formally trained as a social scientist with expertise in social movements, really enjoys exploring a historical era she has studied, yet this time she sees it not with the analytical mind of a scholar, but rather through the emotional lens of a protagonist who is entirely too sensitive for her own good.
Tears and Meatloaf Chocolate Cake
Meet Betty. Betty is the sad, lonely woman in the mansion. She’s the protagonist of the 1960s section of Storms of Malhado, and she is absolutely not everyone’s cup of tea. What attracts some readers yet irritates others, is that Betty feels not just alone, but also utterly powerless in her own life. Betty fully feels the claustrophobic nature of the 1960s, fully feels the disillusion of being trapped in a relatively comfortable existence that doesn’t feed her soul, in a marriage of convenience, in a crumbling and possibly haunted mansion that looks good from the outside. Feeling utterly alone, Betty breaks the social barriers of the time by forging a friendship with the cook who comes to help her, an African American woman, and, more shockingly, more dangerously too, a full blown love affair with a young and rebellious young African American man who tends to her garden. Thus, Betty, while remaining unconvinced that she has any agency at all, and occasionally considering drowning herself in the bathtub, boldly makes two choices meant to tear at the fabric not just of her own life but of the social order of the time and place she lives in.
Readers often find her melancholy naure and defeatist attitude frustrating. “Betty cries too much. And she eats too much meatloaf,” one of the early readers commented. Betty does, indeed, do lots of crying, and she eats her feelings along with all the treats Edna, the cook, makes for her, occasionally meatloaf, but also chocolate cake. Betty is frustrating and a disaster waiting to happen, but her sadness tends to be poetic – sort of like a Lana Del Rey song.
Other Book Recommendations for Stormy Weather
While I strongly believe that Storms of Malhado is a perfect stormy weather comfort read, it’s obviously not for everyone. Then again, if you don’t like moody settings, an air of mystery, a slight Lana Del Rey vibe, and ghost horses too (have I mentioned the ghost horses?) I’m surprised you’re even still reading. Still, there are a few other books I love that could make for great storm reading. I’m partial to The Promise by Ann Weisgarber (but don’t come at me because it’s sad!), The Hurricane Sisters by Dorothea Benton Frank, the Paradise trilogy by Elin Hilderbrand, and Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neele Hurston.
Also, be sure to check out the other Galveston novels by Maria Elena Sandovici. Not all of them have to do with hurricanes, and not all her protagonists are as melancholy as Betty.
