The Kitchen House

I cannot say enough good things about the historical fiction book The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom. It made it on my list of favorite books. In fact, I can only think of one negative thing to say. I was a little disappointed in the lack of authenticity in the accent of the slaves. While most of the language is still believable, I would have liked there to have been more of a Southern slave accent. Grissom answers this criticism herself by saying she started out with a thick accent, but it made the book too hard to read. I get where she is coming from. In my opinion though, that is the one thing that is separating this novel from being on par with the likes of Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.

It's hard to believe this is her debut novel. This is set in Virginia in 1700-1800s. The author sheds interesting light onto white indentured slaves and the interesting relationship between a particular little white indentured girl and the black slaves on a plantation.

I fell in love with the endearing characters. I was opened to the plight of the big house mistress who may not have always agreed with her husband on how he ran his plantation, but could do little about it. I devoured this book, staying up later than wise to finish it. And when I did, I was sad. Not because there seems to be sad things on every page, but because I did not want it to end.

If you are in a book club, you must read this book. It's one of those books that gets better as you talk about it and process it with others. If you are not in a book club - buy the book, read it, pass it to friends, then talk about it.