The Kitchen House: A Novel
Written by Kathleen Grissom
Narrated by Orlagh Cassidy and Bahni Turpin
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
Orphaned during her passage from Ireland, young, white Lavinia arrives on the steps of the kitchen house and is placed, as an indentured servant, under the care of Belle, the master’s illegitimate slave daughter. Lavinia learns to cook, clean, and serve food, while guided by the quiet strength and love of her new family.
In time, Lavinia is accepted into the world of the big house, caring for the master’s opium-addicted wife and befriending his dangerous yet protective son. She attempts to straddle the worlds of the kitchen and big house, but her skin color will forever set her apart from Belle and the other slaves.
Through the unique eyes of Lavinia and Belle, Grissom’s debut novel unfolds in a heartbreaking and ultimately hopeful story of class, race, dignity, deep-buried secrets, and familial bonds.
Editor's Note
An emotional journey…
Grissom does a masterful job portraying the boundaries between slaves and those they served as seen through the eyes of a vulnerable child. An emotional journey spanning two decades of love, loss, injustice, and perseverance.
Kathleen Grissom
Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Kathleen Grissom is now happily rooted in south-side Virginia. She is the New York Times bestselling author of The Kitchen House, Glory Over Everything, and Crow Mary. Find out more at KathleenGrissom.com.
More audiobooks from Kathleen Grissom
Crow Mary: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Glory over Everything: Beyond The Kitchen House Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for The Kitchen House
571 ratings49 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Engaging from start to finish. An accurate and ugly story that portrays our darkest time in US history but, instead of leaving the reader empty and drained, leaves a sense of hope to the goodness and kindness of people of every color.
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I could hardly stop listening once I started! The story is at once haunting, devastating, and beautiful. Of all the historical fiction I have read and/or listened to, this sits among the top few!
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Very engaging. It starts off as a typical story of slavery, but it traces the life of an indentured white girl and her relationships with the black slaves. Not typical.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great book. Gets you from the first page. Well drawn character and events. Loved it!
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Exceptional narration. The first portion of the book was by far my favorite and the most detailed and heartfelt. The intimacy of the family life and life in the kitchen house had me riveted. As Lavinia matured the shorty wandered a bit and lost some of its power and less and less time was spent from Belle’s perspective. The story lost a lot of its focus and became a bit overly dramatic and cliche in many ways, but it’s still worth a listen. The ending itself felt rushed and as though the author wasn’t quite sure how to conclude things. I believe there’s a follow up novel.. which makes the last few sentences of this book seem a bit odd.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Excellent book!! I'm going to immediately start book two. Loved it.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Everything makes this story great! The story itself keeps the reader captivated. The two narrators are phenomenal and really help the reader visualize the characters and scenes. Truly an amazing story of love and tragedy.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One of the best books I have read in a long time
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great book with rich characters. I want a sequel, as there is so much left to tell!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book absolutely drew me in and captivated me. So well written!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beautifully written. The cruelty was real. The strength and love of a family (regardless of bloodline), binds.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A story that needed to be told!
Remarkable Awakening details - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I was captivated by this story, and found myself thinking about the characters even when not listening to the audiobook. Well written and well read. 5 stars indeed!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book literally brought out every emotion I have as a human being. Both beautiful and painfully raw, it will definitely go down as one of my most favorites.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This story grabbed me from the first sentence. Touched my heart and soul
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Although I abhor the thought of slavery and all that goes with it, this is a well written book that gives insight into the daily lives of its characters. A must read ( or listen to) for anyone who is fascinated with historical fiction.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The time period was depicted so wonderfully. Very well written
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I couldn't put this book down. I was so emotional all the way through it, and the ending left me crying.
Very heart rending to think people had to endure that... how horrible. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This was a great book but very sad to read
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Couldn't put it down! Incredible story. I would highly recommend it.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is a wonderful exploration of a dark and sinister soul of the experience of slavery . It be hooves us to explore our history if we are to continue on with knowledge and insight.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Review of history forgotten! Could find yourself living this! ??
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5So good
Historical riveting emotional great characters
Loved every minute of it - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Everything from the story to the narration/performance are absolutely stupendous. Not an easy story to digest but beautifully written and researched and one of the best performance/readings I've come across on any audio book. HIGHLY recommend if you are open to the subject matter.
p.s. be sure to listen all the way thru to the author's note chapter for further insight into the creation of the story. A compelling piece to better understand the author's perspective. Thankful she chose to include it. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wonderful, wonderful, book. So heavy, so emotional, so much pain between races & at the end of the day we are all the same.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An amazing story. Unbelievable how evil slave owners controlled n took away any goodness or hope from slaves. These slaves took care of each other. They created a village n proved it takes one to raise a child.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Not a book I would have typically picked but I was looking for something a little different when this was suggested. The characters were very “real” to me, the author did an amazing job.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5chilling. I had to listen to the end and couldn't stop, but it was difficult.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The narrators brought this gutwrenching novel to life. The story is the heart and soul of so many long ago.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5“This world is for practice to get things right.” — Mama Mae
I have literally read thousands of books, including all the classics, but it took everything I had not to stop before finishing The Kitchen House and holler in a review that “THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS I HAVE EVER READ!” Well, now I’ve read it, twice, and can say with certainty and reflection that this is unquestionably one of the very best books I have ever read.
First, as many have alluded to, although it is certainly no fairy tale, it is infused with more love, kindness, and power through kindness than almost anything but Tolstoy has been able to muster. Better yet, Kathleen Grissom has written one of the most heroic characters in all of literature in Mama Mae. She is an oracle of dependable wisdom. Her kindness seems to have steel supports. She is unendingly clever in a world full of evil, but her cunning is never cutting. She is unshakable in her loyalty. And in the end, her bravery rivals that of Aristotle and Superman combined. Lavinia – “Abinia” – was so open and impossible not to love with all my heart that her sweetness infused even the worst circumstances in the story, but all the characters wrap you up in them and stay with you, and you will likely go back to them again and again. LISTEN, IF YOU CAN. The narration was one of the best I’ve ever heard. (I read *and* listened, but if I was forced to choose only one with this book, it would unquestionably be to *listen.*)