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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.
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.
369 pages, Paperback
First published February 2, 2010
About the author
Kathleen Grissom
10 books3,830 followers Born Kathleen Doepker, I was privileged as a child to be raised in Annaheim, Saskatchewan, a hamlet on the plains of Canada. Although we lived in a small, tightly knit Roman Catholic community, I was fortunate to have parents who were open to other religions and cultures. Since television was not a luxury our household could afford, books were the windows that expanded my world.
Soon after Sister Colette, my first grade teacher, introduced me to Dick, Jane, and Sally, I began to read on my own. I was a fanciful child and became so influenced by books that while I was reading Five Little Peppers And How They Grew I ate only cold boiled potatoes (the truth is this lasted only for a day) as I suffered with them through their hardships. After reading Anne Of Green Gables I was convinced that I, too, was adopted, until my mother told me to stop the foolishness and to look in the mirror. I had her nose. She was right. I limped desperately during Red Shoes For Nancy until my sister, Judy, told me to cut it out, people would think that something was wrong with me. Wanting to more closely experience Helen Keller’s tribulations, at every opportunity I walked with closed eyes until I solidly whacked my head on a doorframe. Enid Blynton’s Famous Five series had me looking for adventure around every corner, and when in class Rudyard Kipling’s, Kim, was read aloud, I couldn’t wait to leave for far-off lands.
Throughout my high school years Simon Lizee, a poet of merit, was our principal. He taught us literature and it was he who encouraged me to write.
Upon graduating from high school, as I saw it then, I had four choices. I could marry (no), become a secretary (no), become a teacher (no) become a nurse (yes). After I graduated from nursing school, I left for Montreal and there worked on staff at the Royal Vic Hospital. Eventually I married and came down to the United States. Throughout, I read voraciously and I wrote, often sending my work back to Mr. Lizee in Saskatchewan, who took the time to continue to instruct me.
It wasn’t until after I gave birth to my daughter, Erin, that I finally worked up enough courage to submit a short story to Myrna Blyth, who, I believe at that time was an editor at Family Circle. She sent back a lovely rejection note, telling me that this story was not one that she could use, but could I send others. I took that note to mean that she did not like my writing, but was being kind, and I foolishly submitted nothing further.
In time, I divorced and remarried, relocated to Manhattan, and there worked as an Ad Executive for a graphics company. I did not stop reading, nor writing, and over the next years took various classes in creative writing.
After four years in the city, we decided to try life on a small farm in New Jersey. When our collection of animals grew to include twenty-five Cashmere goats, two horses, three dogs, and two cats, we knew that it was time to relocate to a larger farm in rural Virginia. There we found twenty-seven acres and a large brick house, circa 1830, that once served as a stagecoach stop. But with the move came a glitch. For the first year my husband’s transfer didn’t happen as planned, and although he joined me every weekend, I was left on the new farm to manage on my own. It was an exciting yet frightening time, and I began to journal the experience. I joined a writers' group, and the Piedmont Literary Society, and when I met Eleanor Dolan, a gifted poet, she generously agreed to mentor me in my writing.
In the following years, Charles and I established an herb farm, a tearoom, and a gift shop that we filled to the barn rafters with work from local artisans. As we restored our old plantation home, I began to research the history of our home and the land that surrounded it. Then I discovered the notation ‘Negro Hill’ on an old map. Unable to determine the story of its origin, local historians suggested that
Soon after Sister Colette, my first grade teacher, introduced me to Dick, Jane, and Sally, I began to read on my own. I was a fanciful child and became so influenced by books that while I was reading Five Little Peppers And How They Grew I ate only cold boiled potatoes (the truth is this lasted only for a day) as I suffered with them through their hardships. After reading Anne Of Green Gables I was convinced that I, too, was adopted, until my mother told me to stop the foolishness and to look in the mirror. I had her nose. She was right. I limped desperately during Red Shoes For Nancy until my sister, Judy, told me to cut it out, people would think that something was wrong with me. Wanting to more closely experience Helen Keller’s tribulations, at every opportunity I walked with closed eyes until I solidly whacked my head on a doorframe. Enid Blynton’s Famous Five series had me looking for adventure around every corner, and when in class Rudyard Kipling’s, Kim, was read aloud, I couldn’t wait to leave for far-off lands.
Throughout my high school years Simon Lizee, a poet of merit, was our principal. He taught us literature and it was he who encouraged me to write.
Upon graduating from high school, as I saw it then, I had four choices. I could marry (no), become a secretary (no), become a teacher (no) become a nurse (yes). After I graduated from nursing school, I left for Montreal and there worked on staff at the Royal Vic Hospital. Eventually I married and came down to the United States. Throughout, I read voraciously and I wrote, often sending my work back to Mr. Lizee in Saskatchewan, who took the time to continue to instruct me.
It wasn’t until after I gave birth to my daughter, Erin, that I finally worked up enough courage to submit a short story to Myrna Blyth, who, I believe at that time was an editor at Family Circle. She sent back a lovely rejection note, telling me that this story was not one that she could use, but could I send others. I took that note to mean that she did not like my writing, but was being kind, and I foolishly submitted nothing further.
In time, I divorced and remarried, relocated to Manhattan, and there worked as an Ad Executive for a graphics company. I did not stop reading, nor writing, and over the next years took various classes in creative writing.
After four years in the city, we decided to try life on a small farm in New Jersey. When our collection of animals grew to include twenty-five Cashmere goats, two horses, three dogs, and two cats, we knew that it was time to relocate to a larger farm in rural Virginia. There we found twenty-seven acres and a large brick house, circa 1830, that once served as a stagecoach stop. But with the move came a glitch. For the first year my husband’s transfer didn’t happen as planned, and although he joined me every weekend, I was left on the new farm to manage on my own. It was an exciting yet frightening time, and I began to journal the experience. I joined a writers' group, and the Piedmont Literary Society, and when I met Eleanor Dolan, a gifted poet, she generously agreed to mentor me in my writing.
In the following years, Charles and I established an herb farm, a tearoom, and a gift shop that we filled to the barn rafters with work from local artisans. As we restored our old plantation home, I began to research the history of our home and the land that surrounded it. Then I discovered the notation ‘Negro Hill’ on an old map. Unable to determine the story of its origin, local historians suggested that
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 21,439 reviews
June 7, 2011
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 losing track of what bad things had happened to which characters.
I enjoyed the story well enough for what it was, but it didn't feel real to me.
I should add that I read Alex Haley's Roots at the age of 17, which set my standards for authenticity in slave novels. No doubt this accounts in part for my lukewarm response to The Kitchen House. If you haven't set the bar quite that high, you may just love it. A lot of people have so far.
I enjoyed the story well enough for what it was, but it didn't feel real to me.
I should add that I read Alex Haley's Roots at the age of 17, which set my standards for authenticity in slave novels. No doubt this accounts in part for my lukewarm response to The Kitchen House. If you haven't set the bar quite that high, you may just love it. A lot of people have so far.
March 30, 2016
I had sorted this book as literature on my shelf well it is definitely not literature but more cheap sensational stuff based on stereotypes.
While reading this book this is what I wrote:
"I am not liking this book. It feels like the books I read when I was a teen and had nothing good to read. It is too much. Too much sorrow and everything goes wrong. Now she is going to make life changing decisions because of lack of communication. If there is something I dislike it is that in books.
I meant by that that you know a woman could have had a great live, if not for a stupid misunderstanding. Like in the cheap harlequin?romance books (here in The Netherlands they were (are?) called bouquet reeks. I now discover that indeed the publisher is harlequin where they never understand each other and because of that make dumb decisions and when they finally get together they tell each other they loved each other from the start.
After a while (65%) I decided to quit reading which is something I hardly ever do. I knew what was going to happen and I could not care less. So disappointing. Had this book on my wish list for ages. Well I never throw books away and i can't bookcross it because it is an ebook. So I will hit the delete book from device button. :)
While reading this book this is what I wrote:
"I am not liking this book. It feels like the books I read when I was a teen and had nothing good to read. It is too much. Too much sorrow and everything goes wrong. Now she is going to make life changing decisions because of lack of communication. If there is something I dislike it is that in books.
I meant by that that you know a woman could have had a great live, if not for a stupid misunderstanding. Like in the cheap harlequin?romance books (here in The Netherlands they were (are?) called bouquet reeks. I now discover that indeed the publisher is harlequin where they never understand each other and because of that make dumb decisions and when they finally get together they tell each other they loved each other from the start.
After a while (65%) I decided to quit reading which is something I hardly ever do. I knew what was going to happen and I could not care less. So disappointing. Had this book on my wish list for ages. Well I never throw books away and i can't bookcross it because it is an ebook. So I will hit the delete book from device button. :)
December 3, 2024
Absolutely wonderful narration! This was definitely a winner for me because of its awesome narrators who made this such an entertaining and enjoyable read! I must say this is the first audiobook that I have thoroughly enjoyed and was captivated from start to finish.
THE KITCHEN HOUSE by KATHLEEN GRISSOM is a very touching, powerful, gripping, heart-wrenching, and a beautifully written Historical Fiction novel which is set on a plantation in the antebellum South that grabbed my listening ears right from the very first chapter.
The novel was told in alternating perspectives of Lavinia and Belle with a different narrator for each voice. I fell in love with these characters and empathized with them as they shared their stories of love, friendship, family, commitment, survival, and loss. I couldn’t help but be totally lost in this story as I found myself listening rather intently to all of their struggles and triumphs at THE KITCHEN HOUSE. I could hear their joy and their sadness coming through so vividly which had me totally engaged in this story.
KATHLEEN GRISSOM delivers a very descriptive and well-written novel here that I found was easy to follow along with the storyline and all the characters involved. There is a lot happening throughout this story and I thought it was a fantastic account about this part of history.
Would recommend!
THE KITCHEN HOUSE by KATHLEEN GRISSOM is a very touching, powerful, gripping, heart-wrenching, and a beautifully written Historical Fiction novel which is set on a plantation in the antebellum South that grabbed my listening ears right from the very first chapter.
The novel was told in alternating perspectives of Lavinia and Belle with a different narrator for each voice. I fell in love with these characters and empathized with them as they shared their stories of love, friendship, family, commitment, survival, and loss. I couldn’t help but be totally lost in this story as I found myself listening rather intently to all of their struggles and triumphs at THE KITCHEN HOUSE. I could hear their joy and their sadness coming through so vividly which had me totally engaged in this story.
KATHLEEN GRISSOM delivers a very descriptive and well-written novel here that I found was easy to follow along with the storyline and all the characters involved. There is a lot happening throughout this story and I thought it was a fantastic account about this part of history.
Would recommend!
January 14, 2012
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 abuse?
And all of this is with the peculiar feel of a Lifetime movie. The colors are too bright, scenes are just a bit too melodramatic, and the accents are just a bit off and you feel very uncomfortable about watching - or reading. Men are kind and good or they are absolute evil bastards. The black women are warm and accepting, the white women don't know what to do and retreat when confronted with difficulties.
There is minimal description of the settings or characters, but an awful lot of information dumping on the reader, in a not very interesting way. 10 lbs. worth of plot in a 5 lb bag.
And all of this is with the peculiar feel of a Lifetime movie. The colors are too bright, scenes are just a bit too melodramatic, and the accents are just a bit off and you feel very uncomfortable about watching - or reading. Men are kind and good or they are absolute evil bastards. The black women are warm and accepting, the white women don't know what to do and retreat when confronted with difficulties.
There is minimal description of the settings or characters, but an awful lot of information dumping on the reader, in a not very interesting way. 10 lbs. worth of plot in a 5 lb bag.
June 16, 2016
What an amazing book! It deserves more than 5 stars. Truly, I couldn’t put it down. I stayed up until the early hours of the morning because I had to finish this story. It’s been ages since I have been that engrossed in a book, or that affected by a story for that matter. There aren’t words to describe the emotions you feel while reading this.
I have to give credit to the author’s wonderful talent for being able to render such an unvarnished, yet grippingly beautiful tale of life on a southern plantation in the late 18th century, and for using just the right amount of words and not overdo it on the descriptive, but instead keeping the pace of the story just so that it feels more like an action-packed thriller. The author so cleverly evokes the story's time and place, that the reader virtually feels present as the the tale unfolds. Truly, I felt like I had travelled in time and was living amongst these exquisitely developed characters. What I want to convey above all is that this is a splendid, thought-provoking and touching story of amazingly admirable people, who despite the tragedies that are happening in their lives, never lose heart. Oh, there’s a lot heart in this story and I will never forget Mama Mae and her family.
I will certainly recommend this book to all those dear to me, because it is impossible not to be permanently touched by this novel.
I have to give credit to the author’s wonderful talent for being able to render such an unvarnished, yet grippingly beautiful tale of life on a southern plantation in the late 18th century, and for using just the right amount of words and not overdo it on the descriptive, but instead keeping the pace of the story just so that it feels more like an action-packed thriller. The author so cleverly evokes the story's time and place, that the reader virtually feels present as the the tale unfolds. Truly, I felt like I had travelled in time and was living amongst these exquisitely developed characters. What I want to convey above all is that this is a splendid, thought-provoking and touching story of amazingly admirable people, who despite the tragedies that are happening in their lives, never lose heart. Oh, there’s a lot heart in this story and I will never forget Mama Mae and her family.
I will certainly recommend this book to all those dear to me, because it is impossible not to be permanently touched by this novel.
January 11, 2023
What wonderful escapism this novel was and a reminder what great joy books bring to readers now more than ever.
image:
When seven-year-old Irish orphan Lavinia is transported to Virginia to work in the kitchen of a wealthy plantation owner, she is absorbed into the life of the kitchen house and becomes part of the family of black slaves whose fates are tied to the plantation.
But Lavinia’s skin will always set her apart, whether she wishes it or not. And as she grows older, she will be torn between the life that awaits her as a white woman and the people she knows as kin.
A friend text me to see if we could do a buddy re-read together, choose a book that brought us joy from the past 10 years of reading. The idea was we would read and discuss as we went along through face time . We both settled on the Kitchen House and it was as much fun going through our reading lists, selecting books and dismissing ones as it was reading this book again.
I love historical fiction the Kitchen House tells a shocking but believable story, Well formed characters that you care about and will remember long after you have finished the novel. Lots of twists and turns to keep the reader interested and certainly a book that is as heartbreaking as it is beautiful and the novel is a perfect length with lots of discussion for book clubs.
I believe there is a sequel called Glory Over Everything: Beyond The Kitchen House
but I am reluctant to read it in case it spoils the Kitchen House experience for me. I will await the advice of my Goodreads’s friends.
image:
When seven-year-old Irish orphan Lavinia is transported to Virginia to work in the kitchen of a wealthy plantation owner, she is absorbed into the life of the kitchen house and becomes part of the family of black slaves whose fates are tied to the plantation.
But Lavinia’s skin will always set her apart, whether she wishes it or not. And as she grows older, she will be torn between the life that awaits her as a white woman and the people she knows as kin.
A friend text me to see if we could do a buddy re-read together, choose a book that brought us joy from the past 10 years of reading. The idea was we would read and discuss as we went along through face time . We both settled on the Kitchen House and it was as much fun going through our reading lists, selecting books and dismissing ones as it was reading this book again.
I love historical fiction the Kitchen House tells a shocking but believable story, Well formed characters that you care about and will remember long after you have finished the novel. Lots of twists and turns to keep the reader interested and certainly a book that is as heartbreaking as it is beautiful and the novel is a perfect length with lots of discussion for book clubs.
I believe there is a sequel called Glory Over Everything: Beyond The Kitchen House
September 6, 2019
An amazing first novel! I rarely hand out 5 stars for a debut novel but this one certainly deserves it.
Author Kathleen Grissom's debut novel about slavery in the South in the late 1700's, early 1800's is one of the best out this year. This thought-provoking look at life on a tobacco plantation in that era both shocks us and draws us into the souls of these compelling characters, the white owners, the black slaves, and the little white girl who is brought in as an indentured servant, with whom we "experience" her growth into womanhood. Totally believable and thoroughly researched I have not read a novel this compelling in some time.
Told in the voice of two of the main characters, it is easy to keep up with the story line. Lavinia is the first voice, the main character, an Irish orphaned 7-year old girl brought in to live and work with the negroes in the Kitchen House. At that time the kitchens actually were commonly in a separate house away from the main house. When she is brought onto the plantation by the white owner, she does not remember the trauma that orphaned her on a shipful of Irish immigrants. She is shocked mute for some time. The black servants become her family. Belle, one of the black slaves, is the secondary narrator who becomes a mother-figure to Lavinia and her story is typical as to what mulatto (half-white, half-black) women had to deal with in that era, as white owners took advantage of black women who sired children as a result. Marshall, the white son of the owners, is a major character in this saga as well, and as a reader you will struggle with your feelings of heartbreak, pity and hatred for him as his character is formed throughout the novel. His story alone will keep you up nights reading long after you intended to.
All of the characters are developed very well, you will not easily forget them. The historical background in Virginia of that era is depicted accurately. I found it interesting that laudanum was generally an accepted and casual source of "calming the nerves with the drops" as they were called, and opium addiction not un-common, even with the elite.
Certainly hoping for a sequel from Ms. Grissom, I will be first in line. Do not miss this amazing work! Highly recommended.
PS: Update October, 2012 Author Grissom has advised me she is working on a sequel to this - yay :)
Author Kathleen Grissom's debut novel about slavery in the South in the late 1700's, early 1800's is one of the best out this year. This thought-provoking look at life on a tobacco plantation in that era both shocks us and draws us into the souls of these compelling characters, the white owners, the black slaves, and the little white girl who is brought in as an indentured servant, with whom we "experience" her growth into womanhood. Totally believable and thoroughly researched I have not read a novel this compelling in some time.
Told in the voice of two of the main characters, it is easy to keep up with the story line. Lavinia is the first voice, the main character, an Irish orphaned 7-year old girl brought in to live and work with the negroes in the Kitchen House. At that time the kitchens actually were commonly in a separate house away from the main house. When she is brought onto the plantation by the white owner, she does not remember the trauma that orphaned her on a shipful of Irish immigrants. She is shocked mute for some time. The black servants become her family. Belle, one of the black slaves, is the secondary narrator who becomes a mother-figure to Lavinia and her story is typical as to what mulatto (half-white, half-black) women had to deal with in that era, as white owners took advantage of black women who sired children as a result. Marshall, the white son of the owners, is a major character in this saga as well, and as a reader you will struggle with your feelings of heartbreak, pity and hatred for him as his character is formed throughout the novel. His story alone will keep you up nights reading long after you intended to.
All of the characters are developed very well, you will not easily forget them. The historical background in Virginia of that era is depicted accurately. I found it interesting that laudanum was generally an accepted and casual source of "calming the nerves with the drops" as they were called, and opium addiction not un-common, even with the elite.
Certainly hoping for a sequel from Ms. Grissom, I will be first in line. Do not miss this amazing work! Highly recommended.
PS: Update October, 2012 Author Grissom has advised me she is working on a sequel to this - yay :)
July 17, 2017
From the Author’s 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 hear these stories, there are always new ones to listen to and allow room for in our minds and hearts. Stories that people have passed on in their families for years, and stories that are documented in museums and libraries.
The Kitchen House is one of those stories and I discovered many things I did not know within these pages, even though I have read many books on the time period over decades of reading. That is one facet where this book shines.
Another bright facet is the writing itself. I could feel the heartbeat of this story through the writing, and that is a rare gift for this reader. The pace was crisp throughout; there were no lags and not one moment where I did not feel I was breathing the same air and feeling the same hot sun as the characters in this book.
The characters are very real, and even when they made some bad choices I could see why and understand - even as I felt their pain and wished they could have foreseen what was ahead. The plot and story line were absorbing and it was hard to put this book down.
The synopsis of this book is accurate, so if it appeals to you, you will love this book. There is far more in the book than the synopsis covers, of course, including some terrible tragedies but also some triumphant joys. This book takes place between the years of 1791 to 1810 in Virginia on a tobacco plantation near Williamsburg. No matter how we look at it, this was not an easy time for either people of color or for women. Even children did not have an easy time of it, regardless of their station in life.
Parental responsibility for children was often handed off to tutors or to house servants. If one was fortunate, this worked out well. If not, the children suffered – usually silently for fear of worse consequences. Similarly, if field slaves had a good overseer, their lives were happier and more productive whereas a cruel and/or conniving overseer created misery and suffering. Abdication of the owners’ responsibility in favor of the overseer was common and again, complaints were dealt with harshly or ignored. In this story, we read about many of those possible scenarios and others that made me feel pure gratitude for the life I have now, in this time we live in, despite our own difficulties.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys very well-written, and extensively well-researched historical fiction, particularly covering antebellum history and the lives and lifestyles of that time.
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 hear these stories, there are always new ones to listen to and allow room for in our minds and hearts. Stories that people have passed on in their families for years, and stories that are documented in museums and libraries.
The Kitchen House is one of those stories and I discovered many things I did not know within these pages, even though I have read many books on the time period over decades of reading. That is one facet where this book shines.
Another bright facet is the writing itself. I could feel the heartbeat of this story through the writing, and that is a rare gift for this reader. The pace was crisp throughout; there were no lags and not one moment where I did not feel I was breathing the same air and feeling the same hot sun as the characters in this book.
The characters are very real, and even when they made some bad choices I could see why and understand - even as I felt their pain and wished they could have foreseen what was ahead. The plot and story line were absorbing and it was hard to put this book down.
The synopsis of this book is accurate, so if it appeals to you, you will love this book. There is far more in the book than the synopsis covers, of course, including some terrible tragedies but also some triumphant joys. This book takes place between the years of 1791 to 1810 in Virginia on a tobacco plantation near Williamsburg. No matter how we look at it, this was not an easy time for either people of color or for women. Even children did not have an easy time of it, regardless of their station in life.
Parental responsibility for children was often handed off to tutors or to house servants. If one was fortunate, this worked out well. If not, the children suffered – usually silently for fear of worse consequences. Similarly, if field slaves had a good overseer, their lives were happier and more productive whereas a cruel and/or conniving overseer created misery and suffering. Abdication of the owners’ responsibility in favor of the overseer was common and again, complaints were dealt with harshly or ignored. In this story, we read about many of those possible scenarios and others that made me feel pure gratitude for the life I have now, in this time we live in, despite our own difficulties.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys very well-written, and extensively well-researched historical fiction, particularly covering antebellum history and the lives and lifestyles of that time.
Read
December 4, 2013I really debated what rating to give this book. In terms of keeping me turning the pages, it was riveting, and I had a hard time putting it down. The story of Lavinia, the young Irish orphan who was raised by a family of plantation slaves, had me laughing and crying out loud at times.
My main problem with the book, however, was that the author never seemed to go past the plot and what was happening to the characters externally. Because of this, they often came across as a little shallow and under developed. One of the most pivotal parts of the book, which I won't spoil with details, signals a huge defeat for Lavinia and also a huge change. But this is merely glossed over, and the lapse in Lavinia's judgement is quickly fixed and the change she had undergone is undone. This short season in her life wasn't given the weight it deserved. I felt like this sort of treatment of the characters somehow made the story seem more soap opera-like and a little flimsy. I should have been bawling by the end of the book, but I felt that I had lost touch with the characters and was just watching the plot play out its inevitable conclusion.
I also had problems with the short, occasional chapters from Belle's point of view. Their only purpose was to fill in plot holes and let us know about things that Lavinia wasn't able to witness. They were too short and infrequent for me to ever connect with Belle as a narrator, and they just took me out of Lavinia's mind and then forced me back a few pages later, which was kind of jarring.
As a sidenote, I'm thinking of campaigning for a ban on prologues. The prologue in this book was (as most prologues are) merely a gimmick to get us more excited about where the book would take us, since it starts off a little slow compared to how it ends. I think the moment highlighted in the prologue would have had so much more impact later in the book if I hadn't known it was coming.
If my rating was based purely on entertainment, I would definitely give this 4 or 5 stars. Yes, it was a little soap opera-ish, but who doesn't enjoy a good soap every now and then? Call it a guilty pleasure.
My main problem with the book, however, was that the author never seemed to go past the plot and what was happening to the characters externally. Because of this, they often came across as a little shallow and under developed. One of the most pivotal parts of the book, which I won't spoil with details, signals a huge defeat for Lavinia and also a huge change. But this is merely glossed over, and the lapse in Lavinia's judgement is quickly fixed and the change she had undergone is undone. This short season in her life wasn't given the weight it deserved. I felt like this sort of treatment of the characters somehow made the story seem more soap opera-like and a little flimsy. I should have been bawling by the end of the book, but I felt that I had lost touch with the characters and was just watching the plot play out its inevitable conclusion.
I also had problems with the short, occasional chapters from Belle's point of view. Their only purpose was to fill in plot holes and let us know about things that Lavinia wasn't able to witness. They were too short and infrequent for me to ever connect with Belle as a narrator, and they just took me out of Lavinia's mind and then forced me back a few pages later, which was kind of jarring.
As a sidenote, I'm thinking of campaigning for a ban on prologues. The prologue in this book was (as most prologues are) merely a gimmick to get us more excited about where the book would take us, since it starts off a little slow compared to how it ends. I think the moment highlighted in the prologue would have had so much more impact later in the book if I hadn't known it was coming.
If my rating was based purely on entertainment, I would definitely give this 4 or 5 stars. Yes, it was a little soap opera-ish, but who doesn't enjoy a good soap every now and then? Call it a guilty pleasure.
September 28, 2021
this book was okay, it was interesting but also too depressing or at least trying to be. I liked the overall story but it didn't mean anything to me. I honestly just expected people to die at any given moment at one point. One would think I'd get lots of feelings from that... I didn't. It's like watching a sad movie and knowing you should be affected but you just can't. While I felt sympathetic towards the character, that was pretty much it.
The narration was good and the book was easy to follow. If you're into audiobooks and wondering about this book, then I say go for it. A different narrator read Belle's pov so it was pretty easy to distinguish it from Lavinia's (even if it was a lot less).
I honestly haven't read many books about this period in USA's history but this book didn't offer new information/something I didn't know already (even as a non-American). Belle's part interested me a lot and even Lavinia's wasn't bad but then what she did in the second part of the book disappointed me and I wasn't a fan of her new habit. Felt out of character. The same thing for Marshell, his character development didn't make much sense to me especially his attitude towards the slave who helped him repeatedly when no one else did.
Nonetheless, it was good for the most part even if I wasn't emotionally attached to the characters or that invested in their story. I'll definitely consider reading Grissom's books in the future too.
The narration was good and the book was easy to follow. If you're into audiobooks and wondering about this book, then I say go for it. A different narrator read Belle's pov so it was pretty easy to distinguish it from Lavinia's (even if it was a lot less).
I honestly haven't read many books about this period in USA's history but this book didn't offer new information/something I didn't know already (even as a non-American). Belle's part interested me a lot and even Lavinia's wasn't bad but then what she did in the second part of the book disappointed me and I wasn't a fan of her new habit. Felt out of character. The same thing for Marshell, his character development didn't make much sense to me especially his attitude towards the slave who helped him repeatedly when no one else did.
Nonetheless, it was good for the most part even if I wasn't emotionally attached to the characters or that invested in their story. I'll definitely consider reading Grissom's books in the future too.
January 19, 2014
I should have loved this; 1st novel, Canadian author, great reviews, southern historical fiction, I was stoked. Maybe that was my problem; overly high expectations the kiss of death. I'll attempt to explain why I rated it so low:
• Boring protagonist; weepy, passive women just irritate me now. I used to be more tolerant; I’ll put this down to aging...
• I read similar books when I was younger, nothing fresh here
• It's a pager turner but the plot was pretty obvious; good story that I wish hadn't morphed into a period piece soap opera. Why did all the characters have to be either dastardly villains or faultless victims? It got wearisome. Was it necessary to have every conceivable tragedy happen? I swear, the author didn't miss a trick. Enough already, it all blurred into a watered-down morass of heartbreak & misfortune. Sometimes less is better, just saying
• Not a single memorable passage or piece of dialog. Honest, I searched!
• In all fairness, I’ve read a lot of great books lately, tough acts to follow. Plus I have a touch of the flu :)
Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not a book snob - enjoy escapism. In fact if this had been sold with a chick-lit cover I might have rated it higher. It just really annoys me when melodrama is hyped as important historical literature, the subject matter deserved better than clichés.
April 1, 2017
Stories set in the South during the time of slavery are always a difficult read. The Kitchen House is no exception. However, the story told here is not all tragedy. There is also hope, friendship, and love in this story.
The Kitchen House is told from two points of view. Lavinia, a young Irish girl who is now an indentured servant, and Belle, a young black slave, who is half while. Lavinia, is seven years old, when she is orphaned when her parents die during passage by boat. The Captain, takes her to his plantation and house to pay off her parents debt. She is quite ill and is given to Belle to take care of and eventually work in the Kitchen House. Belle, is the illegitimate daughter of the Captain, and being half-black, is a slave who works in the Kitchen House. Most of the book is told from Lavinia's point of view, and Belle fills in the rest. It's good to hear from Belle's point of view as Lavinia is so young and clueless and sometimes dimwitted.
Lavinia is taken in, arms wide open, by the "family" of slaves on the plantation and the Kitchen House. She is so young and shaken that she does not realize the difference between black and white in the South during this time. During the story, you see her grow into a young woman, eventually getting married and having a child of her own. Though, she is blind to the ways of some, and marries an absolute evil man. You see her grow and her thoughts change about her adopted family. You see the bond she has with them, especially Belle. You also see the consequences of keeping secrets or holding your anger. You see Belle, who is a strong woman, who wants and needs her free papers. Then she has a child, who she absolutely adores, but who is taken violently and heartlessly from her.
The Kitchen House is a wonderful, powerful book. At times, I found Lavinia a bit annoying, wanting her to snap out of it, and face what is going on. But I forget that she is seven years old when this book starts. I loved all the characters in the book - Ben, Momma Mae, Belle, Papa George, and all the others. You know that any book about the South and slavery is going to contain such heartbreak, but this is what happened during those times. Love and compassion live in many, but there were so many more where evil lived and thrived in. I felt the end of the book went too quickly for me. I wanted more details, but it seemed so rushed. Some of these characters you see in the follow up to this one and I can't wait to jump in and read it.
I listened to this one via audio. Two narrators, one for Lavinia and one for Belle. They both did a fabulous job and I loved this one even more due to the narration. A wonderful book and wonderful narration and a great book to get started with on audios.
The Kitchen House is told from two points of view. Lavinia, a young Irish girl who is now an indentured servant, and Belle, a young black slave, who is half while. Lavinia, is seven years old, when she is orphaned when her parents die during passage by boat. The Captain, takes her to his plantation and house to pay off her parents debt. She is quite ill and is given to Belle to take care of and eventually work in the Kitchen House. Belle, is the illegitimate daughter of the Captain, and being half-black, is a slave who works in the Kitchen House. Most of the book is told from Lavinia's point of view, and Belle fills in the rest. It's good to hear from Belle's point of view as Lavinia is so young and clueless and sometimes dimwitted.
Lavinia is taken in, arms wide open, by the "family" of slaves on the plantation and the Kitchen House. She is so young and shaken that she does not realize the difference between black and white in the South during this time. During the story, you see her grow into a young woman, eventually getting married and having a child of her own. Though, she is blind to the ways of some, and marries an absolute evil man. You see her grow and her thoughts change about her adopted family. You see the bond she has with them, especially Belle. You also see the consequences of keeping secrets or holding your anger. You see Belle, who is a strong woman, who wants and needs her free papers. Then she has a child, who she absolutely adores, but who is taken violently and heartlessly from her.
The Kitchen House is a wonderful, powerful book. At times, I found Lavinia a bit annoying, wanting her to snap out of it, and face what is going on. But I forget that she is seven years old when this book starts. I loved all the characters in the book - Ben, Momma Mae, Belle, Papa George, and all the others. You know that any book about the South and slavery is going to contain such heartbreak, but this is what happened during those times. Love and compassion live in many, but there were so many more where evil lived and thrived in. I felt the end of the book went too quickly for me. I wanted more details, but it seemed so rushed. Some of these characters you see in the follow up to this one and I can't wait to jump in and read it.
I listened to this one via audio. Two narrators, one for Lavinia and one for Belle. They both did a fabulous job and I loved this one even more due to the narration. A wonderful book and wonderful narration and a great book to get started with on audios.
January 9, 2019
It seems that I'll end up in the minority among my reading friends rating this book with 3 stars only, but 3 stars don't mean I didn't like this novel ... I did, I enjoyed reading about rather unusual life of Lavinia who becomes the misterss of the big house, about the terrible treatment of slaves who live in the kitchen house, about their mutual support and love for each other, and about the plantation in the south, however, while reading, I wasn't blown away by the writing, hence my not that high rating. Having said that, I recommend The Kitchen House as it is a decent piece of fiction.
September 9, 2011
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 women are resilient; the white men are either good, or evil--no grey in-between.
The dual narrative is an obvious attempt by the author to show two racial perspectives from the time--but these narratives just become redundant, explaining what the other character already has. I found this to be a clumsy attempt to address white and black experience. Lavinia's narrative is overwrought and lengthy, while Belle only gets a couple pages of simple, unadorned text. As a result, yet again, the white voice is elevated above that of the black voice.
I also felt the novel ended way too suddenly--it seemed like the author had a deadline to meet and just stopped writing. There was no real resolution and I was disappointed. Overall, this book is okay--but don't expect any depth or lasting impression.
The dual narrative is an obvious attempt by the author to show two racial perspectives from the time--but these narratives just become redundant, explaining what the other character already has. I found this to be a clumsy attempt to address white and black experience. Lavinia's narrative is overwrought and lengthy, while Belle only gets a couple pages of simple, unadorned text. As a result, yet again, the white voice is elevated above that of the black voice.
I also felt the novel ended way too suddenly--it seemed like the author had a deadline to meet and just stopped writing. There was no real resolution and I was disappointed. Overall, this book is okay--but don't expect any depth or lasting impression.
March 20, 2024
I strongly encourage readers to read the many glowing reviews of The Kitchen House. My rating is an outlier. I listened to about 20% on audiobook and then put it in the DNF pile. Tragedy after tragedy kept occurring to young infants and it was hard to keep track of the many characters while listening to an audiobook.
February 27, 2016
Set during the late 1700's, this was a very touching story about Lavinia, a young white girl who has tragically lost her family during a passage from Ireland to America, and her newly adopted family of slaves who all serve the ship's captain on his tobacco plantation. Working in the kitchen house, Lavinia forges a deep connection with Mama, Papa George, their children, Uncle, and Belle, the illegitimate daughter of the captain. As a young child, Lavinia recognizes no boundaries due to color; if she notes the constant injustices towards the slaves, she does so with confusion. She only truly perceives a division due to skin color while attending church services for the first time: "It was in that house of worship that I first was made aware of the clear distinction that was made between the races. The white members were seated at the front, while in the back of the building, standing room was reserved for the black servants." Regardless of this initial perception, Lavinia never truly grasps the full impact of this separation until long after it seems she perhaps should have done so. Maybe she could have made better choices and saved her family from such heartache if she could have used her knowledge to empower herself. But, then again, she is a product of the times as well - an orphaned child grown into an adult woman with her own restrictions due to her gender. I will not dwell on this too much, as I did find Lavinia to be a very caring person with a warm heart and only good intentions.
I liked the way this novel alternated chapters between Lavinia's point of view and that of Belle's. Belle's chapters served to fill in some of the gaps left due to Lavinia's naiveté. Mama and Papa George were very endearing and I cared what happened to them and their family. A couple of the characters were predictably despicable. Many of the issues surrounding the institution of slavery are examined – including mistreatment, rape, separation of families, and death. Mental illness and its treatment as well as the effects of opium addictions are also touched upon. The one main problem that I had with this novel is the overwhelming amount of tragedies that seemed to occur one after the other. Initially, they were truly heartbreaking to read about. As the book continued, however, I began to feel that this was in a sense overdone - perhaps to the point of taking something away from the development of the plot. This was true right up to the end of the book forcing it, in my opinion, to end a bit too abruptly.
Overall, The Kitchen House was a page-turner. The themes of family, love, and survival despite devastating hardships were compelling. It was definitely a worthy piece of historical fiction and solidly written for a debut novel. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
I liked the way this novel alternated chapters between Lavinia's point of view and that of Belle's. Belle's chapters served to fill in some of the gaps left due to Lavinia's naiveté. Mama and Papa George were very endearing and I cared what happened to them and their family. A couple of the characters were predictably despicable. Many of the issues surrounding the institution of slavery are examined – including mistreatment, rape, separation of families, and death. Mental illness and its treatment as well as the effects of opium addictions are also touched upon. The one main problem that I had with this novel is the overwhelming amount of tragedies that seemed to occur one after the other. Initially, they were truly heartbreaking to read about. As the book continued, however, I began to feel that this was in a sense overdone - perhaps to the point of taking something away from the development of the plot. This was true right up to the end of the book forcing it, in my opinion, to end a bit too abruptly.
Overall, The Kitchen House was a page-turner. The themes of family, love, and survival despite devastating hardships were compelling. It was definitely a worthy piece of historical fiction and solidly written for a debut novel. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
September 24, 2013
Not going to waste time on a long review on this one.....My review can be summed up in "one word."
Ready for it?
Waiting....
waiting....
drumroll.....please......
My review for this book........ is....
"horrible"
By the end of this book I sooooooo wanted to put a few drops of laudanum in my drink, to take away the pain of it all!
Don't waste your time on this one...so poorly written..... predictable.... I only stuck with it due to being a bookclub selection.......
Ready for it?
Waiting....
waiting....
drumroll.....please......
My review for this book........ is....
"horrible"
By the end of this book I sooooooo wanted to put a few drops of laudanum in my drink, to take away the pain of it all!
Don't waste your time on this one...so poorly written..... predictable.... I only stuck with it due to being a bookclub selection.......
October 29, 2016
NO SPOILERS!!!
On completion: Four stars! I know I really liked the book, but why, and what is it that prevents me from giving it five stars? You keep turning the pages, I kept wondering what is going to happen next? Yes, a lot does happen, and sometimes it does feel a bit melodramatic given all the shit that hits the fan. What happens does not feel impossible, but sometimes I found myself thinking that the Blacks absolutely never were as bad as the Whites. Let me say once again, the story does not feel unbelievable. The characters are nuanced; you come to understand the different individuals as having particular character traits and you understand why they make they make the bad choices they make.
Everyone reviewing this book emphasizes the importance of the theme family plays in the book. I agree it is a major theme, but for me the central focus of the book was what the absence of family feels like. What are the consequences of loosing your family? Any cursory review of this book reveals that Lavinia, the white girl living as an indentured slave in a Virginian slave plantation is an orphan. I found it particularly eye-opening to see how she matures and how her life and her character were so closely influenced by her being an orphan. This theme of losing family was reiterated in other events too. I felt I left the book with a deepened knowledge of how it might feel to be an orphan. It is this that I most appreciated about the book. Lavinia's lack of security, her shyness, her entire way of being taught me a lot.
Another central theme concerns the cruelty of the white masters' rape of black women. We have all read about this, but I believe this book brings it home with a punch. It is not just the physical act, but also the consequences, that are brought to life. I do not consider this a spoiler, it is pretty obvious this will occur given the subject matter of the book. By reading this book, you learn the true pain these women experienced.
However, there are a number of things that bothered me about the book. As mentioned above, the black people really never did anything that was evil. They made mistakes, but you understood them. They clearly made fewer mistakes than their white counterparts. The reader does come to understand their misdeeds too. However, I felt that balance was a little bit lacking.
I have a further complaint. It is with the author's note at the end of the novel. It made me uncomfortable. I didn't believe it. I wish she had not emphasized the veracity of this story.
But overall, I couldn't put this book down. It very well portrayed the life on a Virginian tobacco plantation at the end of the 1700s and it offered interesting insights into how it might feel to be an orphan.
********************
Through page 55: I thought this would be melodramatic. It isn't! I see this as reality. this is how life played out on Southern plantations in Virginia in the latter part of the 1700s. And now I finally understand who is who. I understand the inter-racial situation. Any reader cannot help but understand the tensions inherent to such a situation. As always in life, there are kind and evil people on both sides of the divide. Really, you do not want to put the book down. I know have my family charts drawn :0) It is just to read and enjoy. The author cleverly shows different perspectives by flipping between two narrators - Lavinia and Belle.
ETA: Oh yum, Belle is making apple butter preserves. I have made that for my kids. Waste not, want not. I put all the bottles up in the cold attic. One day I found them up there eating apple butter with spoons, emptying bottle after bottle. Good stuff!
*************************************
Having so far only read 30 pages, this seems to be just exactly the kind of book I was looking for at this moment - something to sink into, a book that will carry me away into another world, time and place. A book that will draws me to the characters and their lives. I assume you you all know this is about a small, white Irish child, whose parents die on the boat over to America. It takes place at the end of the 1700s. The captain doesn't know what to do with this child. She is sick, no one would buy her, so the only option is to take her home with him and give her to his black slaves. She can help in the kitchen. I don't really know who is who yet, more than you do. I do know that this little girl is called Lavinia. I do know that there are kind, loving relationships in this "family" of black slaves. I am guessing this could be a rather melodramatic story, but certainly not stereotyped. It has been called the reverse "Gone with the Wind", in the white child is a slave. She has no higher standing than the slaves. Interesting premise. There is already clear foreshadowing..... The book starts at the end but then flashes back to the beginning, only I already have an idea about the ending! This doesn't bother me b/c I feel pretty darn sure the passage thorough the book will be pure escapism and a fun ride.
And you know me...... the prose style is ever so important! I like it. Look at the following lines. Look at what they say about the individuals:
Fanny hoped that the freckles across my nose would fill in to give my pale skin more color. (page 19)
Fanny, a black child of the same age as Lavinia, was worried about Lavinia's pale white skin! Cute, don't you think?! The following is also cute. Lavinia is always sucking her thumb.....
How could I fly with my thumb in my mouth? he wanted to know.... (page 20)
Ben, a black, strapping youth of 18, voiced this. Ben gave Lavinia her first bird nest. Collecting abandoned bird nests became one of her favorite pastimes. She lined up that first one next to the homemade doll she received from Mama Mae. I know terrible things will happen, but I also know that this book will exhibit kindness and loving too.
On completion: Four stars! I know I really liked the book, but why, and what is it that prevents me from giving it five stars? You keep turning the pages, I kept wondering what is going to happen next? Yes, a lot does happen, and sometimes it does feel a bit melodramatic given all the shit that hits the fan. What happens does not feel impossible, but sometimes I found myself thinking that the Blacks absolutely never were as bad as the Whites. Let me say once again, the story does not feel unbelievable. The characters are nuanced; you come to understand the different individuals as having particular character traits and you understand why they make they make the bad choices they make.
Everyone reviewing this book emphasizes the importance of the theme family plays in the book. I agree it is a major theme, but for me the central focus of the book was what the absence of family feels like. What are the consequences of loosing your family? Any cursory review of this book reveals that Lavinia, the white girl living as an indentured slave in a Virginian slave plantation is an orphan. I found it particularly eye-opening to see how she matures and how her life and her character were so closely influenced by her being an orphan. This theme of losing family was reiterated in other events too. I felt I left the book with a deepened knowledge of how it might feel to be an orphan. It is this that I most appreciated about the book. Lavinia's lack of security, her shyness, her entire way of being taught me a lot.
Another central theme concerns the cruelty of the white masters' rape of black women. We have all read about this, but I believe this book brings it home with a punch. It is not just the physical act, but also the consequences, that are brought to life. I do not consider this a spoiler, it is pretty obvious this will occur given the subject matter of the book. By reading this book, you learn the true pain these women experienced.
However, there are a number of things that bothered me about the book. As mentioned above, the black people really never did anything that was evil. They made mistakes, but you understood them. They clearly made fewer mistakes than their white counterparts. The reader does come to understand their misdeeds too. However, I felt that balance was a little bit lacking.
I have a further complaint. It is with the author's note at the end of the novel. It made me uncomfortable. I didn't believe it. I wish she had not emphasized the veracity of this story.
But overall, I couldn't put this book down. It very well portrayed the life on a Virginian tobacco plantation at the end of the 1700s and it offered interesting insights into how it might feel to be an orphan.
********************
Through page 55: I thought this would be melodramatic. It isn't! I see this as reality. this is how life played out on Southern plantations in Virginia in the latter part of the 1700s. And now I finally understand who is who. I understand the inter-racial situation. Any reader cannot help but understand the tensions inherent to such a situation. As always in life, there are kind and evil people on both sides of the divide. Really, you do not want to put the book down. I know have my family charts drawn :0) It is just to read and enjoy. The author cleverly shows different perspectives by flipping between two narrators - Lavinia and Belle.
ETA: Oh yum, Belle is making apple butter preserves. I have made that for my kids. Waste not, want not. I put all the bottles up in the cold attic. One day I found them up there eating apple butter with spoons, emptying bottle after bottle. Good stuff!
*************************************
Having so far only read 30 pages, this seems to be just exactly the kind of book I was looking for at this moment - something to sink into, a book that will carry me away into another world, time and place. A book that will draws me to the characters and their lives. I assume you you all know this is about a small, white Irish child, whose parents die on the boat over to America. It takes place at the end of the 1700s. The captain doesn't know what to do with this child. She is sick, no one would buy her, so the only option is to take her home with him and give her to his black slaves. She can help in the kitchen. I don't really know who is who yet, more than you do. I do know that this little girl is called Lavinia. I do know that there are kind, loving relationships in this "family" of black slaves. I am guessing this could be a rather melodramatic story, but certainly not stereotyped. It has been called the reverse "Gone with the Wind", in the white child is a slave. She has no higher standing than the slaves. Interesting premise. There is already clear foreshadowing..... The book starts at the end but then flashes back to the beginning, only I already have an idea about the ending! This doesn't bother me b/c I feel pretty darn sure the passage thorough the book will be pure escapism and a fun ride.
And you know me...... the prose style is ever so important! I like it. Look at the following lines. Look at what they say about the individuals:
Fanny hoped that the freckles across my nose would fill in to give my pale skin more color. (page 19)
Fanny, a black child of the same age as Lavinia, was worried about Lavinia's pale white skin! Cute, don't you think?! The following is also cute. Lavinia is always sucking her thumb.....
How could I fly with my thumb in my mouth? he wanted to know.... (page 20)
Ben, a black, strapping youth of 18, voiced this. Ben gave Lavinia her first bird nest. Collecting abandoned bird nests became one of her favorite pastimes. She lined up that first one next to the homemade doll she received from Mama Mae. I know terrible things will happen, but I also know that this book will exhibit kindness and loving too.
June 9, 2013
While reading "The Kitchen House", I often thought, "this must be the years best SOAP OPERA HISTORICAL FICTION novel of the year". Do they give out such awards? lol
Geeeeeee, you'd think the author could have had added a 'little' more drama to hold our interest?/! ha ha!
But.....YES, I liked this book! (most of the characters were well developed for the story). Maybe--the character of Marshall could have been developed a little more from his childhood to his adulthood ----(however, I got the point of his complex-painful childhood and the way it played out as he aged).
However, I 'do' think the book needed better editing.
Did I read need to keep reading over and over the ongoing struggles page after page after page. (about the same topic)---when believe me---I got the PUNCH about 10 pages back? ----
Yeah---I DID.....because I was 'suck-in' ---taking the ride--- I could not stop reading until I knew how it was all going to end.
Guess that equals decent book?, ya think? (yes and no). In this cast---mostly YES!
4 stars --yep, First novel?/! Damn good job! I'm standing by my stars....*4* it is! :)
elyse
Geeeeeee, you'd think the author could have had added a 'little' more drama to hold our interest?/! ha ha!
But.....YES, I liked this book! (most of the characters were well developed for the story). Maybe--the character of Marshall could have been developed a little more from his childhood to his adulthood ----(however, I got the point of his complex-painful childhood and the way it played out as he aged).
However, I 'do' think the book needed better editing.
Did I read need to keep reading over and over the ongoing struggles page after page after page. (about the same topic)---when believe me---I got the PUNCH about 10 pages back? ----
Yeah---I DID.....because I was 'suck-in' ---taking the ride--- I could not stop reading until I knew how it was all going to end.
Guess that equals decent book?, ya think? (yes and no). In this cast---mostly YES!
4 stars --yep, First novel?/! Damn good job! I'm standing by my stars....*4* it is! :)
elyse
April 15, 2014
Can you imagine being in such a frightful shock that you don’t 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 1700’s in Virginia. Feeling isolated and confused, her fellow slaves open their arms to this sad girl, when she is ready, and take her in as though she were one of their own.
In time she comes to accept them, but she is constantly put in the middle of deciding to choose her new family and being indentured for the rest of her life or for education and freedom. One would think education and freedom, but with that come other costs. Once a free white woman she would not be able to share the family bond that she so cherished with her fellow slaves, at least not openly.
I had a hard time putting this one down and its story has remained with me since finishing. The characters were so tangible for me that I honestly had the most realistic dream last night that I was there and I loved these people. I litereally felt like I was a part of the book, stuck in the pages and living the life of Lavinia. The characters had so much depth that they just took me along with them.
The only downside for me was I had a hard time understanding one of the characters. He seemed to have been traumatized as a child but the situations surrounding him were not very clear nor were his motives. But I will say that it didn’t take away from the intensity of the book for me. I had absolutely no problems looking over this bit of confusion and just came up with my own ideas. This can be seen as a positive, however, because it intensified my engagement toward the book.
I feel like I am better for having read this novel and that is pretty miraculous in itself. I highly recommend this exceptional book about love, acceptance, and loyalty. Yes, there was also deceit, hate, and fear, but that wasn’t the focus for me nor do I think that it was intended for that purpose. I feel the negativity in this story was strong in exposing how love conquers all the nasty emotions. This one softened that part of my heart that can sometimes become a bit hard and for that I am forever grateful for having read it.
This is the terrifying realization for Lavinia, who was thrust to work the house kitchen with other slaves in the late 1700’s in Virginia. Feeling isolated and confused, her fellow slaves open their arms to this sad girl, when she is ready, and take her in as though she were one of their own.
In time she comes to accept them, but she is constantly put in the middle of deciding to choose her new family and being indentured for the rest of her life or for education and freedom. One would think education and freedom, but with that come other costs. Once a free white woman she would not be able to share the family bond that she so cherished with her fellow slaves, at least not openly.
I had a hard time putting this one down and its story has remained with me since finishing. The characters were so tangible for me that I honestly had the most realistic dream last night that I was there and I loved these people. I litereally felt like I was a part of the book, stuck in the pages and living the life of Lavinia. The characters had so much depth that they just took me along with them.
The only downside for me was I had a hard time understanding one of the characters. He seemed to have been traumatized as a child but the situations surrounding him were not very clear nor were his motives. But I will say that it didn’t take away from the intensity of the book for me. I had absolutely no problems looking over this bit of confusion and just came up with my own ideas. This can be seen as a positive, however, because it intensified my engagement toward the book.
I feel like I am better for having read this novel and that is pretty miraculous in itself. I highly recommend this exceptional book about love, acceptance, and loyalty. Yes, there was also deceit, hate, and fear, but that wasn’t the focus for me nor do I think that it was intended for that purpose. I feel the negativity in this story was strong in exposing how love conquers all the nasty emotions. This one softened that part of my heart that can sometimes become a bit hard and for that I am forever grateful for having read it.
June 4, 2024
"Family makes us strong in times of trouble."
This novel explores the meaning of family.
As a person who has lived, worked, played, and explored in Tidewater Virginia, I found The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom to be even more rewarding than I might have otherwise. That's not to suggest this novel gives much mention to the local geography. Rather that many native Tidewaterites have not quite managed to leave their history behind, and while I lived there, I never felt completely forgiven for being a Yankee. Although, growing up amongst Detroit Tigers fans, I didn't much like Yankees either.
Readers new to this novel should recall that great novels usually begin in an imperfect world, and what could be more imperfect than the Antebellum South? Also, in great novels, things usually get worse before they get better. In the case of The Kitchen House, expect things to get worse, worser, worst, and worster-yet before they get to be slightly less imperfect.
I sincerely thank everyone before me who recommended The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom. I'm grateful for you.
This novel explores the meaning of family.
As a person who has lived, worked, played, and explored in Tidewater Virginia, I found The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom to be even more rewarding than I might have otherwise. That's not to suggest this novel gives much mention to the local geography. Rather that many native Tidewaterites have not quite managed to leave their history behind, and while I lived there, I never felt completely forgiven for being a Yankee. Although, growing up amongst Detroit Tigers fans, I didn't much like Yankees either.
Readers new to this novel should recall that great novels usually begin in an imperfect world, and what could be more imperfect than the Antebellum South? Also, in great novels, things usually get worse before they get better. In the case of The Kitchen House, expect things to get worse, worser, worst, and worster-yet before they get to be slightly less imperfect.
I sincerely thank everyone before me who recommended The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom. I'm grateful for you.
November 13, 2014
To quote one of my book club mates, "This is just about the worst book I've ever read." I was so happy she'd said this, because it's about the same reaction I had to the drivel this woman published - and, yet it's been recommended to me by no fewer than seven people! Ack!
Kathleen Grissom started with a great story idea - bring to life the tales of children sold into slavery or indentured servitude in 18th century Virginia whose country of origin was not Africa. In the hands of a more experienced author, this might have been a fabulous book. However, Grissom falls back on cliche characterizations and overused storylines. I wondered if I wasn't just reading a modern day Harlequin romance.
Terrible. Just terrible.
Kathleen Grissom started with a great story idea - bring to life the tales of children sold into slavery or indentured servitude in 18th century Virginia whose country of origin was not Africa. In the hands of a more experienced author, this might have been a fabulous book. However, Grissom falls back on cliche characterizations and overused storylines. I wondered if I wasn't just reading a modern day Harlequin romance.
Terrible. Just terrible.
June 4, 2023
My reading pace slows way down in May— between all kinds of celebrations, work events, and the dreaded spring cleaning— I don’t have much time for reading.
But this book had me reading late at night. From the instant I opened it, I was invested in the story, in the place, and sadly, in the footsteps of our two main characters.
Alternately narrated by two of its female characters, the Virginia plantation set in the very late 1700s and early 1800s comes alive. Between Lavinia’s and Belle’s stories, the heartbreak, confusion, and lack of control is palpable.
Slavery is the back drop but so is love, greed, abuse, hatred, and fear. Skin color determines so much but so does the heart— mine broke a little during this book as I grew to love and admire Lavinia’s adopted family.
There are definitely some triggering scenes but Grissom does a wonderful job letting the reader imagine some of the abuse without spelling it all out. Still, it’s not always an easy book to read— that’s okay, some of the best books should make the reader uncomfortable.
But this book had me reading late at night. From the instant I opened it, I was invested in the story, in the place, and sadly, in the footsteps of our two main characters.
Alternately narrated by two of its female characters, the Virginia plantation set in the very late 1700s and early 1800s comes alive. Between Lavinia’s and Belle’s stories, the heartbreak, confusion, and lack of control is palpable.
Slavery is the back drop but so is love, greed, abuse, hatred, and fear. Skin color determines so much but so does the heart— mine broke a little during this book as I grew to love and admire Lavinia’s adopted family.
There are definitely some triggering scenes but Grissom does a wonderful job letting the reader imagine some of the abuse without spelling it all out. Still, it’s not always an easy book to read— that’s okay, some of the best books should make the reader uncomfortable.
July 27, 2015
This was a spectacular read for me. There are few novels that I become so immersed in and this was one of them. The story is about a white slave girl who becomes part of the slave family in the late 1700's. It's about her growing up in the conflicting white black world and her confusion being pulled into both. It's about the relationships and loyalty that develop and the tragedies that arise during this time. I love Grissom's style of writing - story is told by both Lavinia the white slave and Belle the black one. It was disturbing in the sense that slavery is, but also how women were perceived during this time period. A definite 5 from me - would not hesitate to recommend and place back on my to be re read shelf.
March 2, 2018
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.
March 17, 2013
My 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 plantation and forms a deep and loving bond with them, they become her family.
This story is complicated and compelling with realistic characters and complex relationships. There is a richness in detail for the setting and the period. Grissom is able to paint a vivid picture of the love of a family and the joy in the simple things in life as well as the deeply moving sorrow that affected many of the characters in the book.
I loved the two female protagonists, Lavinia and Belle, who narrate this story. They narrate in alternating chapters which has become a very popular technique for writers. I'm not always fond of it, I think it can often make a story feel awkward or disconnected. But I thought it was a clever technique for this story and it was well done. Grisson allows Lavinia to narrate the majority of the story with Belle's chapters being only a few pages in length. Lavinia's voice changes as she matures to adulthood and Belle is able to give the reader adult insight into relationships and the motivations behind other character's actions.
Grissom does a good job of creating a realistic character in Marshall, one of the antagonists, whose behavior is often horrifying and despicable and other times tender and protective. I loved the gentle and caring male characters of Uncle Jacob, Papa George and Ben, who nicknames Lavinia 'little bird'.
This is both a tender and horrifying depiction of a time when life was complicated and dangerous. I felt Lavina and Belle's fear as they navigated the obstacles of their daily life and struggled with who to trust and how to keep their secrets.
This novel reminds me of 'March' by Geraldine Brooks which I would also recommend to readers. Part of that story takes place on a cotton plantation that employs freed slaves and there are similar relationships between the characters.
It isn't often that I give a book five stars and I almost never find myself wanting to re-read a book but I find that both apply to this one. I think this would make an excellent book club choice. In my opinion 'The Help', 'March' and 'The Kitchen House' would all make excellent choices for book clubs.
This is another first novel that feels like it's written by a seasoned author. I found the author's note describing how she came to write this book very interesting. And I enjoyed reading the conversation with the author included at the back of the book. I will be looking for Kathleen Grissom's next novel 'Crow Mary' and I hope she writes what happened after 'The Kitchen House'. If she does I will certainly read it.
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 plantation and forms a deep and loving bond with them, they become her family.
This story is complicated and compelling with realistic characters and complex relationships. There is a richness in detail for the setting and the period. Grissom is able to paint a vivid picture of the love of a family and the joy in the simple things in life as well as the deeply moving sorrow that affected many of the characters in the book.
I loved the two female protagonists, Lavinia and Belle, who narrate this story. They narrate in alternating chapters which has become a very popular technique for writers. I'm not always fond of it, I think it can often make a story feel awkward or disconnected. But I thought it was a clever technique for this story and it was well done. Grisson allows Lavinia to narrate the majority of the story with Belle's chapters being only a few pages in length. Lavinia's voice changes as she matures to adulthood and Belle is able to give the reader adult insight into relationships and the motivations behind other character's actions.
Grissom does a good job of creating a realistic character in Marshall, one of the antagonists, whose behavior is often horrifying and despicable and other times tender and protective. I loved the gentle and caring male characters of Uncle Jacob, Papa George and Ben, who nicknames Lavinia 'little bird'.
This is both a tender and horrifying depiction of a time when life was complicated and dangerous. I felt Lavina and Belle's fear as they navigated the obstacles of their daily life and struggled with who to trust and how to keep their secrets.
This novel reminds me of 'March' by Geraldine Brooks which I would also recommend to readers. Part of that story takes place on a cotton plantation that employs freed slaves and there are similar relationships between the characters.
It isn't often that I give a book five stars and I almost never find myself wanting to re-read a book but I find that both apply to this one. I think this would make an excellent book club choice. In my opinion 'The Help', 'March' and 'The Kitchen House' would all make excellent choices for book clubs.
This is another first novel that feels like it's written by a seasoned author. I found the author's note describing how she came to write this book very interesting. And I enjoyed reading the conversation with the author included at the back of the book. I will be looking for Kathleen Grissom's next novel 'Crow Mary' and I hope she writes what happened after 'The Kitchen House'. If she does I will certainly read it.
August 14, 2017
This was a sad book and quite depressing story. Absolutely nothing good ever happened....but I could not stop turning the pages.
January 26, 2019
This is an intriguing story of Lavinia, a girl orphaned on a ship from Ireland and brought to the home of a plantation owner where she is to live and work with the slaves in the kitchen house. She becomes deeply bonded to her black family but is set apart because of her white skin.
Eventually Lavinia is accepted into the world of the big house where the master is absent and she battled opium addiction.
I can't put into words correctly the tragedies that this woman endures and the lives of the slaves in this early 1800's time period. The house slaves were treated better than the slaves who worked the tobacco fields, they were truly treated as property that needed to be fed and sheltered so that they could work, nothing more.
What's intriguing is that the story is told in two voices, that of Lavinia and Belle, a beautiful house slave who is actually the Master's daughter. She took Lavinia in as her own sister and helped her learn the ways of the plantation.
In the end Lavinia must make a choice, loyalties are brought into question, dangerous truths are laid bare and lives are put at risk.
This book was a page turner. I absolutely loved it. The very detailed descriptions of the plantation and the country during this time period was excellent as was the character development.
Highly recommend to all historical fiction and literature lovers.
Eventually Lavinia is accepted into the world of the big house where the master is absent and she battled opium addiction.
I can't put into words correctly the tragedies that this woman endures and the lives of the slaves in this early 1800's time period. The house slaves were treated better than the slaves who worked the tobacco fields, they were truly treated as property that needed to be fed and sheltered so that they could work, nothing more.
What's intriguing is that the story is told in two voices, that of Lavinia and Belle, a beautiful house slave who is actually the Master's daughter. She took Lavinia in as her own sister and helped her learn the ways of the plantation.
In the end Lavinia must make a choice, loyalties are brought into question, dangerous truths are laid bare and lives are put at risk.
This book was a page turner. I absolutely loved it. The very detailed descriptions of the plantation and the country during this time period was excellent as was the character development.
Highly recommend to all historical fiction and literature lovers.
September 1, 2020
THE KITCHEN HOUSE tells the story from two alternating points of view: Lavinia, a child of indentured servants, and Belle, head cook at Tall Oaks.
Lavinia becomes orphaned during ocean passage to 18th century Virginia. Sea captain Pyke decides to take Lavinia home to his tobacco plantation and put her to work in the Kitchen House with Belle.
This is the story of each one’s survival during a time of love, survival and heartbreak.
THE KITCHEN HOUSE is a compelling work of historical fiction that i would recommend to anyone.
Lavinia becomes orphaned during ocean passage to 18th century Virginia. Sea captain Pyke decides to take Lavinia home to his tobacco plantation and put her to work in the Kitchen House with Belle.
This is the story of each one’s survival during a time of love, survival and heartbreak.
THE KITCHEN HOUSE is a compelling work of historical fiction that i would recommend to anyone.
June 10, 2019
This is a masterpiece of historical history. I loved this book from the beginning to the end. As an African American descendant I tend to embrace the story's that reflect the strength of the black slaves back in the day. The sad thing is that the white people who treated the slaves as animals were really slaves themselves. Slaves to jealously, power, ignorance and pure hatred.
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