Reviews

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

tams53's review against another edition

4.0

Two parallel family stories of love and loss in a time of slavery.

hmonkeyreads's review against another edition

4.0

I flew through this story of a young Irish orphan in the 1700s working in the kitchen house of a southern plantation.

I can't say there is anything especially new or different about this tale of slaves other than our main character Lavinia who can move between black and white life but the characters came to life for me and I loved being with them.

ebrocar's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

katieproctorbooks's review against another edition

5.0

This book was a hard one to read because of the violence and abuse towards not only slaves on the plantation but also the women. That said, I think it was beautifully written and such an important read.

liziev's review against another edition

3.0

I wish GR let me do half stars - 3.5.

I often struggle with books that either have two timelines, or told from two characters, and this book is a good example of why.
Why not tell the entire story from Lavinia’s POV? Belle was almost an after thought. Pages and pages of Lavinia, barely one page of Belle, stating the obvious. Why not tell the story fully from one of their POV? Anyway, this is a pet peeve of mine, and would have given one extra star had this been executed better.
Well worth the read though, heartbreaking at every turn.

sharppointysticks's review against another edition

4.0

Work book club selection

Wow, if ever people needed to be honest with each other and stop assuming things!

camille_jmu's review against another edition

4.0

I wish I could give this book 4.5 starts instead of 4. I think the book was well written.... Great character development and world building. Since I live in Virginia, it's easy to visualize the places she mentions, like the plantations and the buildings in Williamsburg. I didn't like the end of the book that much. I was often sad or frustrated as some scenes did not seem realistic to me. Seems that everything that could possibly go wrong, did. However, you don't have to agree with every part of the story being told to enjoy the book. Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, as this was one of my favorites. It is certainly my most enjoyable read this year.

eehenry4's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

elysahenegar's review against another edition

4.0

This book is so captivating! I felt so much affection for Grissom's characters and felt so much investment in their lives that I didn't want to put this down! Some of the things that happen in this book are hard to read, but the novel offers a fair glance at a time in our history when enslaved people were brutally treated. The Kitchen House is such a great story! It's full of tragedy and heartache, but also warm with love and hope.

manicknitter's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring relaxing sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0