3.5 stars
3.5 stars
I fell in love with The Rib King by Ladee Hubbard right from the opening scene. In the Barclay Household, Mr. Sitwell is the groundskeeper among other jobs in the Barclay house. He came as an orphan when he was 14. The Barclay’s took in three male orphans at a time (cheap labor) and they learned to cook. Now, he looks after the three present orphans and vouches for them when they get in trouble. Hubbard allows the reader insight into how the rich white culture uses its privilege over poor blacks. I particularly liked the relationship between me Sitwell and Miss Mamie, the cook. This book reminds me of the culture in Upstairs Downstairs where everyone had to know their place if you were in the servant class in England.
The book lost me during the second half when we find out a wrong that Mr, Stilwell was involved in and the story focuses on Jennie, the chambermaid who is now out on her own and has a beauty parlor. For me, the story becomes very confusing and I had a hard time staying focused. It could be the long chapters. I also wish more time had been taken for the ending.
I felt the book exposed the racial problems of the time period and made me think a lot about where we are in 2021. My thanks to Amistad and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.
3.5 stars
I fell in love with The Rib King by Ladee Hubbard right from the opening scene. In the Barclay Household, Mr. Sitwell is the groundskeeper among other jobs in the Barclay house. He came as an orphan when he was 14. The Barclay’s took in three male orphans at a time (cheap labor) and they learned to cook. Now, he looks after the three present orphans and vouches for them when they get in trouble. Hubbard allows the reader insight into how the rich white culture uses its privilege over poor blacks. I particularly liked the relationship between me Sitwell and Miss Mamie, the cook. This book reminds me of the culture in Upstairs Downstairs where everyone had to know their place if you were in the servant class in England.
The book lost me during the second half when we find out a wrong that Mr, Stilwell was involved in and the story focuses on Jennie, the chambermaid who is now out on her own and has a beauty parlor. For me, the story becomes very confusing and I had a hard time staying focused. It could be the long chapters. I also wish more time had been taken for the ending.
I felt the book exposed the racial problems of the time period and made me think a lot about where we are in 2021. My thanks to Amistad and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.