On the Southern Literary Trail discussion
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General Bookishness
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Retired: What are you reading?
The Kitchen House by Kathleen GrissomSix year old Lavinia, orphaned while crossing the Atlantic from Ireland to the US in the late eighteenth century, is taken as an indentured servant/slave by the ship's captain since her parents had not yet paid him fully. Her brother was sold into an apprenticeship. She is brought to his house and given into the care of Belle, the captain's eldest child, but also a slave, since he had her with a slave before he was married. Belle had once lived in the big house being loved and educated until her father's marriage, because he was afraid of Martha's reaction if she found out. Lavinia bonds with her new black family.
The Kitchen House is told from both Belle's and Lavinia's points of view, and tells their stories over a number of years. Although not brilliantly told, it is well told, and highlights something not everyone is familiar with; the plight of indentured white children and adults, some of whom remained slaves for life. I'm not saying whether or not this happens with Lavinia. While I have read novels about indentured servants and slaves from the British Isles before, this is the first where I have read one where the child became so involved with the house slaves. What makes this story special isn't because it shows anything knew on the horrors of slavery, but the characters Grissom has in it. I would say that by and large most of them are well developed with very few stereotypes, but there are a few of those as well. However, it is a good debut novel and she shows promise as an author.
Diane S ☔ wrote: "Finished City of Thieves 
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
This was a really great book, which clearly you agree. I loved your comment about a kingdom for a dozen eggs. Even though it was a sad situation in the book, the comment made me laugh.
I read City of Thieves when it first came out. Really tough but well done. Pre-Game of Thrones for the author.
I'm reading several books, at the moment : The Dragon Man, Khan Al-Khalili, Snow Country and The Warmest December. No doubt the quantity is slowing down the process of finishing any one of them, but I am enjoying them all for different reasons and they suit different moods.
Laurie wrote: "Diane S ☔ wrote: "Finished City of Thieves https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
This was a really great book, which clearly you agree..."
Thanks, Laurie.
Kim wrote: "I read City of Thieves when it first came out. Really tough but well done. Pre-Game of Thrones for the author."Definitely well done, Kim.
Carol wrote: "I'm reading several books, at the moment : The Dragon Man, Khan Al-Khalili, Snow Country and The Warmest December. No doubt the quantity is s..."Curious to read your thought on Snow Country.
Diane S ☔ wrote: "Carol wrote: "I'm reading several books, at the moment : The Dragon Man, Khan Al-Khalili, Snow Country and The Warmest December. No doubt the..."I'm trying to figure that out, Diane, now. I can't figure out if it's going over my head and there's something I'm missing or if the emperor has no clothes. Still there's something special but ... You understand my dilemma?
Carol wrote: "Diane S ☔ wrote: "Carol wrote: "I'm reading several books, at the moment : The Dragon Man, Khan Al-Khalili, Snow Country and [book:The Warmest December|495..."I do indeed.
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Rabbit, RunJust finished this delicious, insidious and often shocking novel of 1960 and I devoured each morsel of description and narrative like a giant Hershey bar-- with almonds. The character Rabbit is often I think misunderstood as a pathetic rotten bastard, but to me he's a spoiled, limited product of his magical thinking-- about himself and his life, which he watches distantly instead of participating. His actions are reprehensible and narrow, completely justified by his inner myopia. Everything truly is about him. The narrative flows like milk; Cheever is one of the most over-looked mid-century authors and he deserves so much more adulation. His sentence structure is redolent with adjectives and observations of character that are seldom read any more.
Here's a sample from the first page:
Boys are playing basketball around a telephone pole with a backboard bolted to it. Legs, shouts. The scrape and snap of Keds on loose alley pebbles seems to catapult their voices high into the moist March air blue above the wires. Rabbit Angstrom, coming up the alley in a business suit, stops and watches, though he's twenty-six and six three. So tall, he seems an unlikely rabbit, but the breadth of white face, the pallor of his blue irises, and a nervous flutter under his brief nose as he stabs a cigarette into his mouth partially explain the nickname, which was given to him when he too was a boy. He stands there thinking, the kids keep coming, they keep crowding you up.
So clean! It's also ultimately bleak and depressing, but I loved it. Give me Cheever, Roth, Mailer, Styron anytime.
Ann, I love Cheever too, but John Updike wrote Rabbit, Run. I've only read short stories by those two authors, and was also impressed with their talent.
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Just finished this delicious, insidious and often shocking novel of 1960 and I devoured each morsel of description and narrative like a giant Hershey bar-- with almonds. Th..."
I remember in my youth our minister did a sermon on each of the Rabbit books. I don't remember anything about the sermons but imagine there must have been something in the books that he considered worthwhile life lessons. Of course, it could be that he just really liked John Updike.
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I'm so bummed that this is the only book at my library by this author. I requested sometime back his most recent and still no copy added. May have to buy. I'm almost finished and it's looking like a firm 5 star read for me as well.
I haven't read it but sounds like I need to . Been on my list .
Just finished Maya Angelou 'I know why the cage bird sings' . Lovely and heartbreaking.
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He might have been a first time author once but John Hart has written several great books including (in order):
The King of Lies
Down River
The Last Child
Iron House and coming out next month
Redemption Road.Sadly, Down River is the only one I've gotten around to reading. Loved it!
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He is a really great discovery. I hadn't realized that he was a soutern author until Down River appeared in the polls. I may have to consider him for a Moderator's choice someday.
I read The Last Child and enjoyed this book. I heard John Hart at the South Carolina Book Festival and enjoyed his talk on southern mysteries.
Finished The Empress of Bright Moon. 3.5 stars . My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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Here's his tour schedule for Redemption Road. I may make a point of meeting him June 4th when he visits Corte Madera.
http://www.johnhartfiction.com/tour-d...
Tom wrote: "I just received an ARC of Absalom's Daughters: A Novel. I'm looking forward to reading this debut novel of two sisters, one white and one black, who set out on a most unusual road t..."Tom, have you read this one yet? Sounds really interesting and I love road trips!
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I felt compelled to liberate:
Colonel Chabert
Sheepfarmer's DaughterThe Postman
Death of a HussyA Deadly Shade of Gold
The Two-Ocean WarWar and Remembrance
William Faulkner: The Man and the Artist: A BiographyUp Front
Speaks the NightbirdColorado Gunsmoke: True Stories of Outlaws and Lawmen on the Colorado Frontier
Cutting for StoneTwilight
(not that Twilight!)
South of BroadThe Waterworks
.Now I have to figure out which of my daughters I'll need to evict to make room for all my books.
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I've just started it. If you like road trips, be sure to join us next month for Carrying Albert Home: The Somewhat True Story of A Man, His Wife, and Her Alligator. It's my favorite book so far this year.
BTW: Homer Hickam has agreed to participate in a Q&A.
Thanks Tom, will wait for your review.Will try to track down the Hickam too.
Tom wrote: "Library book sales are DANGEROUS places.I felt compelled to liberate:
Colonel Chabert
[book:Sheepfarmer's Da..."Oh those lucky adopted books.
I absolutely adore The Deeds of Paksenarrion, and Elizabeth Moon overall. Have read Deeds at least 4 times down through the years, and discuss knitting and other life pursuits with the author from time to time. Her books have gotten me through some life crises. My kids also love Paks.
I also like Balzac, on the other end of my reading range. I am very broadband in my reading.
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I've heard good things about Elizabeth Moon but have yet to read anything by her. Her bio and the absurdity of the book's description sold me on this one. I picked up the Balzac because I had chosen The Mysterious Mansion for a short fiction discussion I run over at the Literary Darkness group and really liked his style.
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I'm the same way. When I was a kid my parents let me read whatever I wanted provided I read a good variety so I mixed a lot of classics in with my guilty pleasures.
Okay, I have finished Glory over Everything: Beyond The Kitchen House but haven't entered it yet; I still need to write a review.
Doesn't go to your review, Karin.
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The Kitchen House by Kathleen GrissomRating: ★★★★
In the late 18th century, while on the Atlantic Ocean, a young Irish girl's parents die. The ship's captain returns to his Virginia tobacco plantation where Lavinia is integrated with the kitchen house slaves. She grows to adulthood on the plantation living in two worlds, not fully feeling a part of either one. As a house servant, she assists in the care of the opium-addicted, frequently bedded plantation mistress. She loves and is loved by many of the plantation slaves, especially Belle, the novel's co-narrator, the daughter of the captain. However, Lavinia is not truly accepted in their world being white. Her separation becomes more pronounced as she grows to adulthood. This historical novel, published five years ago, has only recently receiving praise, especially since the sequel was announced. This novel is a poignant depiction of plantation life in early America. I will be reading the sequel.
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When I would muse in boyhood
When I would muse in boyhood
The wild green woods among,
And nurse resolves and fancies
Because the world was young,
It was not foes to conquer,
Nor sweethearts to be kind,
But it was friends to die for
That I would seek and find.
I sought them far and found them,
The sure, the straight, the brave,
The hearts I lost my own to,
The souls I could not save.
They braced their belts about them,
They crossed in ships the sea,
They sought and found six feet of ground,
And there they died for me.
Alfred Edward Housman - English poet
Finished The Kind Worth KillingRecommend this twisted tale of deception for those of you that enjoy a good thriller. Quick and easy read, but hard to put down.
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On the Southern Literary Trail
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Authors mentioned in this topic
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Hubert Skidmore (other topics)
Mark Twain (other topics)
Delia Owens (other topics)
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