Have you ever had this feeling when you know you read a great book, but you can't get the author's intention right away? That's what I think about "Rib King." It has a promising concept, touching racism, sexism, ambition, and black iconography. The latter is something new to me, so I was excited to learn from this novel.
I felt the story was missing some element that stopped me from loving it. The story was divided into two parts. The first part focused on August Sitwell in 1914 when he and Jennie Williams worked at Barclay's family. Ten years later, it followed Jennie on her journey of entrepreneurship. It seemed like I was reading two different stories because it was so different, but I could see the connection in the end.
My pet peeve is I couldn't grasp the author's message. I had to do more research after finishing the book to understand it –– it felt like cheating. I think the pacing and the structure might be slightly off. Also, the transition between those two parts was so abrupt. However, I do believe this book is so unique and interesting. It challenged me to think about American stereotypes. My conclusion is it's not the book, it's me.
Thank you to BookishFirst and Amistad for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I felt the story was missing some element that stopped me from loving it. The story was divided into two parts. The first part focused on August Sitwell in 1914 when he and Jennie Williams worked at Barclay's family. Ten years later, it followed Jennie on her journey of entrepreneurship. It seemed like I was reading two different stories because it was so different, but I could see the connection in the end.
My pet peeve is I couldn't grasp the author's message. I had to do more research after finishing the book to understand it –– it felt like cheating. I think the pacing and the structure might be slightly off. Also, the transition between those two parts was so abrupt. However, I do believe this book is so unique and interesting. It challenged me to think about American stereotypes. My conclusion is it's not the book, it's me.
Thank you to BookishFirst and Amistad for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.