The story of The Rib King starts in New Orleans in 1914 where we are introduced to a cast of characters who are working as the staff at the Barclay residence, a well to do White family, who has unfortunately stumbled upon some financial misfortune. The first half of the story explores themes of race relations in both the home itself and in the greater context of the setting of New Orleans itself and even further to the South Eastern area of the USA. The characters that we follow most closely in this first half are August Sitwell, the gardener/handman, for the Barclays and Miss Mamie, the cook and head of staff at the residence. Without divulging too much of the story, we watch as the characters interact with one another and with the setting of the story, so much so that I would argue that the setting of the book is another character altogether. As the story progresses in this first half, facts about characters are revealed which accumulate and have disastrous consequences for all involved.
The second half of the story follows Jennie, the maid, of the Barclay residence as she works to carve her own spot in the world with her own invention. In the second half of the book we have now jumped to New Orleans in 1924. However, she finds that due to her history it is much harder to make a name for herself. The second half of the story further explores what lead to the disastrous event in the first half and the lasting consequences for everyone that was related to the event.
My thoughts on this book were all around positive. I do believe that the blurb on the back of the book and wherever the book is advertised is a bit misleading as it only explains half of the book. That being said, I loved the second half of the book (as well as the first half). I enjoyed spending time with the characters, learning their motivations, and being there when they failed and succeeded. I think that the book wrapped up a bit too quickly- I think it could have benefited from a few more pages explaining how things worked the way they did but I was altogether very pleased with the story that Ladee Hubbard created! I would recommend this book.
The second half of the story follows Jennie, the maid, of the Barclay residence as she works to carve her own spot in the world with her own invention. In the second half of the book we have now jumped to New Orleans in 1924. However, she finds that due to her history it is much harder to make a name for herself. The second half of the story further explores what lead to the disastrous event in the first half and the lasting consequences for everyone that was related to the event.
My thoughts on this book were all around positive. I do believe that the blurb on the back of the book and wherever the book is advertised is a bit misleading as it only explains half of the book. That being said, I loved the second half of the book (as well as the first half). I enjoyed spending time with the characters, learning their motivations, and being there when they failed and succeeded. I think that the book wrapped up a bit too quickly- I think it could have benefited from a few more pages explaining how things worked the way they did but I was altogether very pleased with the story that Ladee Hubbard created! I would recommend this book.