Intriguing story with a few exceptions

Rating 3.75

While the characters and plot are unusual, I can't help but feel it's missing the mark due to far too many characters, subplots and its lackluster ending. A racially driven tale about a cook, grounds keeper and others that evolves into the marketing of a stolen recipe for a rib sauce. The plot is extremely convoluted using characters whose objectives keep changing. The central figure is Sitwell, a black gardener who gets promoted to butler then is given credit for a meat sauce due to fine tuned fragrance skills he'd become known for. When his appearance is used for the label the company brands it Rib King and plans using him to promote it. A closet drinker, he finds himself in the middle of a fiasco while racial protests rage. From here the story spins into a new direction focused on one of the women he worked with when he was groundskeeper. While its well written and paced, I found that the lack of depth and repetitive subplots took away from the momentum, though overall, I enjoyed the story. Having researched the author, it turns out this was her second story, so I'm reading the debut novel for comparison. Its worth reading if you enjoy stories from the years when segregation was in the throws of being resolved AND if your preference is drama. ( )

Good back and front stories about a fictionalized Uncle Ben and Aunt Jemima and the racism and violence they were forced to endure in a midwestern city where the "enlightened" homeowner only hires staff of one race to "avoid conflict". But I just did not get emotionally attached to the characters of Mr. Sitwell, Jennie, and Mamie, although they deserved better from me. ( )

Rating: 4* of five...truly on sentimental grounds

A BOOKRIOT BEST BOOK OF 2021!

The Publisher Says: Upstairs, Downstairs meets Parasite: The acclaimed author of The Talented Ribkins deconstructs painful African American stereotypes and offers a fresh and searing critique on race, class, privilege, ambition, exploitation, and the seeds of rage in America in this intricately woven and masterfully executed historical novel, set in the early twentieth century that centers around the black servants of a down-on-its heels upper-class white family.

For fifteen years August Sitwell has worked for the Barclays, a well-to-do white family who plucked him from an orphan asylum and gave him a job. The groundskeeper is part of the household’s all-black staff, along with “Miss Mamie,” the talented cook, pretty new maid Jennie Williams, and three young kitchen apprentices—the latest orphan boys Mr. Barclay has taken in to "civilize" boys like August.

But the Barclays' fortunes have fallen, and their money is almost gone. When a prospective business associate proposes selling Miss Mamie’s delicious rib sauce to local markets under the brand name “The Rib King”—using a caricature of a wildly grinning August wearing a jewel-encrusted crown on the label—Mr. Barclay, desperate for cash, agrees. Yet neither Miss Mamie nor August will see a dime. Humiliated, August grows increasingly distraught, his anger building to a rage that explodes in shocking tragedy.

Elegantly written and exhaustively researched, The Rib King is an unsparing examination of America’s fascination with black iconography and exploitation that redefines African American stereotypes in literature. In this powerful, disturbing, and timely novel, Ladee Hubbard reveals who people actually are, and most importantly, who and what they are not.

I RECEIVED THIS AS A YULE GIFT FROM MY DELIGHTFUL YOUNG GENTLEMAN CALLER. YOU'RE TOO KIND, ROB.

My Review: A book of two halves...Mr. Sitwell, the risen-through-the-ranks butler of the Barclay family, has a fascinating tale to tell about how he becomes The Rib King™ and, in an access of passionate rage, pivots from a man who knows his worth, and protects it at all costs, into a, well, talented person set on revenge for some nasty wrongs. I myownself was quite invested in this story and would give it four stars were it the only one here.

Part two follows Jennie, who was another servant in the Barclay household, as she does what needs doing in New Orleans. She has a daughter and she is the only one who can look out for the young lady's future. This would seem to be well-trodden territory. It is. I don't want you to think there was nothing to say for it, and there are definitely reasons to follow Jennie and her child. But the process was three-star territory for sure.

What made me think and fuss about how to fix this reading experience in my memory is the fact that I read The Talented Ribkins (see below) before I read this book. It led me down the garden path a bit. I was expecting to get more of the reasons and the wherefores of the earlier book's characters. It didn't really fulfill that desire in me.

But the prose flowed over my eyes, the stories felt very *real* in their outlines and very relatable to the world we saw in The Talented Ribkins; so surely four stars, after all? And that, plus the verve of Mr. Sitwell's half of the story, gave me the nudge to go from the more-grounded-in-the-object three-and-a-half up to four stars.

I got four stars'-worth of pleasure from Ladee Hubbard's unique and entertaining characters. I expect most who read my reviews will, too. I do caution y'all to get and read The Talented Ribkins first. They make a better whole-story experience that way, and they're each well worth your eyeblinks. ( )

August Sitwell, groundskeeper and Jennie Williams,maid are both part of the all black staff at the Barclay's residence in 1914. The Barclay's are falling on hard times financially and may not be able to keep all of their staff, especially the three young kitchen apprentices, Mac, Frederick and Bart who were taken from the orphan asylum. One of Mr. Barclay's business associates takes an interest in the meat sauce that Sitwell and Barclay's cook, Mamie created. The associate offers to sell the sauce, complete with Sitwell's picture on the front under the name of "The Rib King '' bringing the Barclay's back from their financial ruin. However, neither Sitwell or Mamie will see any money from the sale. Sitwell's frustration reaches a peak setting forth a chain of events that will change many lives. Ten years later, Jennie owns a successful business parlor and wants to market a healing salve that she and Mamie developed. When the familiar face of The Rib King comes back to town, Jennie learns just how far reaching the effects are of that fateful night at the Barclay's house.

The Rib King is an intriguing story told in two parts giving a detailed look into the lives of African Americans during this time period. The first half of the story is told from the point of view of August Sitwell, the second from the point of view of Jennie Williams. This style of writing gave way to a slow burn historical fiction story that didn't begin to tie all of the pieces together until the near end. Through both Sitwell and Jennie's narration there is an insightful view into the long term suffering of the African American population and the effects passed down on their psyche and worth. The story goes into detail of white privilege and cultural appropriation used for profit. I could clearly understand Sitwell's rage and pathway to revenge once his whole story was revealed. Jennie's story revealed how someone on a completely different path than Sitwell could still be stalled by the same issues due to a common history. My only complaint was the ending wrapped up rather quickly. I'd love to continue to read The Talented Ribkins to continue the stories of Mac, Bart and Frederick.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. ( )

I have no clue how to describe this - just read it! ( )