August Sitwell has worked for the Barclays since he was a child. With their wealth dwindling, they begin selling their cook, Mamie’s rib sauce with a cartoonish depiction of August on the packaging. August becomes “The Rib King” but not before tragedy strikes.
I was immediately engrossed in this story, because it’s very different from anything else I’ve read. Hubbard uses the creation and marketing of this sauce to explore themes of race, class, capitalism and minstrelsy.
The first half of the story flew by and I was intrigued to find out where everything was headed. In the second half, the perspective shifts to Jennie Williams, a former employee of the Barclays. I felt like the story really slowed down there, though I did find Jennie’s story much more interesting.
The ending felt a little rushed with most of the major plot points being wrapped up in one single page.
Overall, this was a very interesting read and I’m looking forward to reading more by Ladee Hubbard.
I was immediately engrossed in this story, because it’s very different from anything else I’ve read. Hubbard uses the creation and marketing of this sauce to explore themes of race, class, capitalism and minstrelsy.
The first half of the story flew by and I was intrigued to find out where everything was headed. In the second half, the perspective shifts to Jennie Williams, a former employee of the Barclays. I felt like the story really slowed down there, though I did find Jennie’s story much more interesting.
The ending felt a little rushed with most of the major plot points being wrapped up in one single page.
Overall, this was a very interesting read and I’m looking forward to reading more by Ladee Hubbard.