Wow! This is one "Hard to put down" book; in fact, the only real complaint I have (and it is tiny) is that there's so much going on by the end, that it becomes almost soap operish! It's hard to believe how many different ways all these people are related because of the inbreeding (and mostly the whites "using" the black slaves they have working for them), which further caused even more conflicts between characters. And by the end, so much was happening, it was "hold on to your hat" time until the very last sentence! The book is pretty tense throughout, with a lot of atrocities happening to the various wonderfully delineated characters in the book. the narrator varies from Lavinia, the white orphaned girl who is raised by the black slaves assigned to the kitchen house, and Belle, her african american mother, who has a child with the white captain of the whole shebang! The book starts with a tease and thought the whole book, this reader was wondering how it would end up there (so that was a good ploy to keep us reading). I recommend the book, but it isn't for the faint of heart at all! There was even less violence in "The Invention of Wings" and "orphan train" -- two other wonderful books I read on similar subjects, But this one also stands on its own because of the intriguing plot lines that surround all the members of the slaves who are working at this particular household. You feel like one of the family until the end. The story and characters were set up well, but the narrative was a bit drawn out and meandering. By the time you get resolution for Belle and Lavinia, you aren't sure you care all that much anymore. It held my interest well enough, but probably because I'm a sucker for historical novels and she included enough details about the houses, clothing and way of life on the plantation to keep me hooked. I don't think the story or characters alone would have been enough to do that, though. As I said, the setup for each character was promising, but in the end they came off as tropic and a bit one-dimensional.
What do You think about The Kitchen House (2010)?
I love writing that gives characters voices in my head.
—Slamica14
Great character development but quite depressing.
—Lauren
