Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for What Stands in a Storm:
Got real dusty when I was reading this.
Quick synopsis:
The story of the three-day tornado superstorm outbreak in late April 2011.
Fact for Non-History People:
There was already a deadly tornado outbreak in April 2011 less than two weeks before the events of this book.
Fact for History Nerds:
Alabama averages 42 tornadoes per year.
My Take on What Stands in a Storm:
One of the genres of non-fiction in which I am well versed is disaster stories. You may wonder, “Is it because you are a disaster yourself?” No, and I don’t like your tone.
Disaster stories follow a very simple formula. Introduce the people you will be following (sometimes with a flash forward), then get to the disaster, then the aftermath. The trick is not to try and break from this structure. The key to a great disaster story is making the reader connect with the people caught in the wake. You don’t root for the tornado. You root for the people. And unfortunately, you will inevitably have to mourn some.
Kim Cross adds one more wrinkle in her exceptional What Stands in a Storm about the tornado outbreak in the south in April of 2011. Her prose is what makes this story stand out even more. I can’t count the number of books recently that do not know how to use similes, metaphors, and alliteration. They often feel forced or just plain nonsensical. Cross is the opposite. Her descriptions border on poetry and her explanation of scientific aspects are dummy proof (which I am comfortable saying since science hurts my brain).
None of this would matter, however, unless Cross brought home the human drama and loss. In that regard, I can confirm it got VERY dusty in my house while reading the final 50 pages. There is no stronger seal of approval I can give.
Verdict:
Must read. Bring tissues. Buy it here!
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.