Point Books To The Kitchen House
| Original Title: | The Kitchen House |
| ISBN: | 1439153663 (ISBN13: 9781439153666) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Characters: | Ben, Marshall, Captain Pyke, Miss Martha, Lavinia McCarten, Mama Mae, Papa George, Uncle Jacob, Sukey, Campbell, Fanny, Beattie, Dory, Overseer Rankin, Sally Pyke |
| Setting: | Virginia(United States) |
| Literary Awards: | Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Historical Fiction and for Debut Author (2010) |
Kathleen Grissom
Paperback | Pages: 369 pages Rating: 4.2 | 222214 Users | 18057 Reviews
List Based On Books The Kitchen House
| Title | : | The Kitchen House |
| Author | : | Kathleen Grissom |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 369 pages |
| Published | : | February 2nd 2010 by Atria Books |
| Categories | : | Historical. Historical Fiction. Fiction. Book Club |
Explanation In Pursuance Of Books The Kitchen House
When a white servant girl violates the order of plantation society, she unleashes a tragedy that exposes the worst and best in the people she has come to call her family. Orphaned while onboard ship from Ireland, seven-year-old Lavinia arrives on the steps of a tobacco plantation where she is to live and work with the slaves of the kitchen house. Under the care of Belle, the master's illegitimate daughter, Lavinia becomes deeply bonded to her adopted family, though she is set apart from them by her white skin. Eventually, Lavinia is accepted into the world of the big house, where the master is absent and the mistress battles opium addiction. Lavinia finds herself perilously straddling two very different worlds. When she is forced to make a choice, loyalties are brought into question, dangerous truths are laid bare, and lives are put at risk.Rating Based On Books The Kitchen House
Ratings: 4.2 From 222214 Users | 18057 ReviewsDiscuss Based On Books The Kitchen House
Kathleen Grissom had the raw materials for a rich and powerful historical novel. Her writing is good, if a little drawn out at times. She has an interesting angle with the orphaned Irish immigrant girl put to work among the slaves. So why did it fall short? I think Grissom slipped too easily into stereotypes and melodrama and never got out of that rut. When you have too many tragic or shocking things happen to too many characters, it becomes predictable and numbs the reader. I started losingMy hat is off to Kathleen Grissom for creating such a wonderful and moving story. I recently read 'The Help' by Kathryn Stockett which I also highly recommend. I think the two novels compliment each other very nicely. Lavinia, born in Ireland, is an indentured servant who comes to live at Tall Oaks tobacco plantation in southern Virginia in 1791. She is placed in the care of Belle, the master's illegitimate daughter. Lavinia lives and works in the kitchen house along side the slaves on the
If books can be compared to movies, this is a Lifetime movie. Tragedy after tragedy occurs; we have unaknowledged illegitimate biracial children, sexual abuse of children,rape, sexual assault, drug use. And the author also puts in the particular tragedies of pre-Civil War Virginia, including abuse and murder of slaves, mistreatment of slaves, the breaking of families by slave owners, starvation and overworking of the slaves. Plus mental illness. Oh, there's incest, too. And did I mention spousal
I am surprised by all the 4 & 5 star reviews. While the book is somewhat interesting, it falls flat and reeks of melodrama. It's like the Days of our Lives in the 18th century. The book is very repetitious with tragedy and crisis--you become numb to it after awhile. And yes, the characters are very 2 dimensional. I can't believe that Marshall would just become wholly evil. I expected to see a more complex character than that. All the white women in the book are weak and subdued; the black
Can you imagine being in such a frightful shock that you dont know who you are or where you came from? Now imagine that scenario as an orphaned 7-year-old indentured servant, with an Irish accent unlike the thick southern one that you can barely understand that surrounds you. This is the terrifying realization for Lavinia, who was thrust to work the house kitchen with other slaves in the late 1700s in Virginia. Feeling isolated and confused, her fellow slaves open their arms to this sad girl,
I adored this book. I didn't want to put it down and was excited every time I was able to pick it up. I got completely lost in the world of Lavinia. I fell in love with the characters. I can't wait to pick up the follow up book "Glory Over Everything". Highly recommend for those who are in the mood for historical fiction.
From the Authors notes: The only time the work came to a standstill was when the characters took me to an event or a place where I had not yet done my research. I tried on a number of occasions to change some of the events (those that I found profoundly disturbing), but the story would stop when I did that, so I forged ahead to write what was revealed.Antebellum history has been covered numerous times and from numerous angles, just like WWI and WWII history. And yet, no matter how many times we
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