“What They Don’t Tell You About Hurricanes” by Philip Gerard is a poignant story that captures the emotions and experiences of a family living on the North Carolina coast during a hurricane. The story is told in the first person by the narrator, who is the father of the family, and is written in a descriptive and reflective style.
The story takes the reader on a journey of the family’s experiences before, during, and after the hurricane, and the emotions and details that the essay provokes are vivid and moving. For example, the narrator’s description of the storm as it approaches is tense and atmospheric, with the sound of the wind “like a freight train” and the rain “hammering against the roof like a hail of bullets”. This creates a sense of fear and anticipation in the reader, mirroring the family’s own fears as they brace themselves for the worst.
As the storm hits, the narrative becomes more introspective, with the narrator reflecting on his own mortality and the fragility of life in the face of nature’s power. For example, he says, “In the grip of the storm, you feel your smallness in the face of something so vast and implacable”, which captures the sense of awe and humility that the hurricane inspires.
The story also explores themes of community and resilience, as the family and their neighbors come together to help each other in the aftermath of the storm. The narrator describes how they helped an elderly couple whose home was destroyed, and the sense of solidarity that this engendered.
Overall, the story is beautifully written and emotionally affecting, and the descriptive style and introspective tone create a sense of intimacy between the reader and the narrator. The story is told in a linear fashion, but the way the events are described creates a sense of movement and progression, as the family faces the storm and emerges stronger on the other side.