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The Rib King: A Searing Novel of Race, Ambition, and Shocking Tragedy in Twentieth Century America
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 early the 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 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.
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 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.
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 19, 2021
174 people are currently reading
8383 people want to read
About the author
Ladee Hubbard
5 books184 followersLadee Hubbard was born in Massachusetts, raised in Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands and currently lives in New Orleans with her husband and three children. She received a B.A. from Princeton University, a Ph.D. from the University of California-Los Angeles, and an M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has published short fiction in the Beloit Fiction Journal and Crab Orchard Review among other publications and has received fellowships from the Hambidge Center, the Virginia Center for Creative Arts and the Hurston/Wright Foundation. She is a recipient of a 2016 Rona Jaffe Foundation Writer’s Award.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 418 reviews
December 1, 2020
**I received this book in a Bookish Firsts giveaway. It is due to be released (at this time) in January 0f 2021.
(FYI, the author's first name is pronounced "Lady.")
Whew, I'm really struggling with what to rate this. This novel covers sadly timely topics (although it's set a century ago) such as race, class, sexism, privilege, xenophobia, and violence. It's also got a stilted first half with some pacing problems, a great middle, and then a blink and you missed it conclusion.
The story is split into two parts. The first half tells the story of how Mr. Sitwell, a servant to a landed white gentry family who have fallen on hard times, ends up selling the recipe for a barbecue sauce to an investor and in the process becomes The Rib King, the face of the brand's racist caricature. The second half picks up a decade later with Jennie, a young mother who worked as a maid with Mr. Sitwell and is now a budding entrepreneur. She finds her attempt to market her homemade beauty products stymied by her perceived association with the controversial Rib King, a man she barely knew and hasn't seen in ten years after an act of violence set them on different paths. As Jennie tries to extricate herself from The Rib King's shadow, she finds herself in the middle of plots and counterplots that hinge on what influence she can exert on him and who she believes.
It feels like Hubbard wrote this trying to mimic the style of early 20th century literature and the first 100-150 pages were a bit of a grind for me. When the story switched to Jennie though, I really liked it. Having said that, all of the labyrinthine plots and soliloquys about plots faintly reminded me of the Dune series, sans the sandworms and annoying twins. Then the story, which had gotten enjoyably bananas during the last act, abruptly careens to a stop with a "This is what everyone did" one page wrap-up that I found befuddling given how... deliberately paced other parts of the book were.
There are a lot of thoughts in this novel about whether violence should be answered with violence and what good is non-violence when nothing changes. It was thought-provoking and I almost gave it four stars, but the mechanical problems with the way it was written kept nagging at me.
None of which to say that Hubbard isn't talented, she clearly is. The style of this book didn't totally work for me despite the thoughtful treatment of a timely subject, but the majority of reviewers seem to have loved it.
(FYI, the author's first name is pronounced "Lady.")
Whew, I'm really struggling with what to rate this. This novel covers sadly timely topics (although it's set a century ago) such as race, class, sexism, privilege, xenophobia, and violence. It's also got a stilted first half with some pacing problems, a great middle, and then a blink and you missed it conclusion.
The story is split into two parts. The first half tells the story of how Mr. Sitwell, a servant to a landed white gentry family who have fallen on hard times, ends up selling the recipe for a barbecue sauce to an investor and in the process becomes The Rib King, the face of the brand's racist caricature. The second half picks up a decade later with Jennie, a young mother who worked as a maid with Mr. Sitwell and is now a budding entrepreneur. She finds her attempt to market her homemade beauty products stymied by her perceived association with the controversial Rib King, a man she barely knew and hasn't seen in ten years after an act of violence set them on different paths. As Jennie tries to extricate herself from The Rib King's shadow, she finds herself in the middle of plots and counterplots that hinge on what influence she can exert on him and who she believes.
It feels like Hubbard wrote this trying to mimic the style of early 20th century literature and the first 100-150 pages were a bit of a grind for me. When the story switched to Jennie though, I really liked it. Having said that, all of the labyrinthine plots and soliloquys about plots faintly reminded me of the Dune series, sans the sandworms and annoying twins. Then the story, which had gotten enjoyably bananas during the last act, abruptly careens to a stop with a "This is what everyone did" one page wrap-up that I found befuddling given how... deliberately paced other parts of the book were.
There are a lot of thoughts in this novel about whether violence should be answered with violence and what good is non-violence when nothing changes. It was thought-provoking and I almost gave it four stars, but the mechanical problems with the way it was written kept nagging at me.
None of which to say that Hubbard isn't talented, she clearly is. The style of this book didn't totally work for me despite the thoughtful treatment of a timely subject, but the majority of reviewers seem to have loved it.
October 1, 2020
A bold and original historical novel exploring class, race, and the ways we take revenge. The Parasite comp is a very good one, not only because the book starts us in a house with servants and because of the dread and violence that runs through it, but also because of the twisty plot that takes you to very unexpected places.
On its surface, this is a book about Black servants in a white home in early 20th century New Orleans, where the wealth is not quite what it once was and the servants bear the brunt of their employers' fiscal woes. The troubles of the household are particularly fraught because without these relatively stable jobs, the world outside is a horror, with strikes and unrest, especially around the most desperate Black workers. Leaving the house means entering a world of violence and fear, but is the house all that safe?
This is a book about rage and violence, even if it doesn't seem like it at first. It is about the long shadow of trauma and loss, and the ways people seek power and stability. And what does that stability mean? What do you have to do to get it? What kind of compromises are you willing to take, what kind of pain are you willing to inflict? And how are you complicit in enabling someone else's violence if it suits your own ends? So many interesting questions all tied up in this book, while never hitting you over the head with them.
This is one of those books that I will tell people to just trust and stick with it (unless it is really not working for you from the jump, of course). I liked it immediately but I started to feel like maybe it was too slow. This was probably more about me than the book, because now I can look back at it and say it was not slow at all, it was just being extremely deliberate about raising the stakes one step at a time. There are A LOT of steps so you have to stick with it but the reward is that by the time you reach the end of those steps the tension is extremely high and it starts to feel like maybe anything can happen, which is a very far cry from where the book started. The first section of it is the book equivalent of being a frog in slowly heating water where all of a sudden you look around and it's boiling.
To be truthful, it goes beyond boiling it is more like blowing up the entire kitchen, but I do not want to say too much. Just that when the book transitioned from its first part to its second a few years later (not a spoiler, in the table of contents!) I was only a page or so in before I yelled out loud at it for a particularly impressive reveal. Right as I'd just thought I could relax. So sly, this book. The second part pulls together several pieces from the first, while once again slowly escalating the tension.
I have a few quibbles about the structure. The beginning takes a little long to get going, and then the end comes way too fast, but phew what a middle. A real gut punch of a book.
On its surface, this is a book about Black servants in a white home in early 20th century New Orleans, where the wealth is not quite what it once was and the servants bear the brunt of their employers' fiscal woes. The troubles of the household are particularly fraught because without these relatively stable jobs, the world outside is a horror, with strikes and unrest, especially around the most desperate Black workers. Leaving the house means entering a world of violence and fear, but is the house all that safe?
This is a book about rage and violence, even if it doesn't seem like it at first. It is about the long shadow of trauma and loss, and the ways people seek power and stability. And what does that stability mean? What do you have to do to get it? What kind of compromises are you willing to take, what kind of pain are you willing to inflict? And how are you complicit in enabling someone else's violence if it suits your own ends? So many interesting questions all tied up in this book, while never hitting you over the head with them.
This is one of those books that I will tell people to just trust and stick with it (unless it is really not working for you from the jump, of course). I liked it immediately but I started to feel like maybe it was too slow. This was probably more about me than the book, because now I can look back at it and say it was not slow at all, it was just being extremely deliberate about raising the stakes one step at a time. There are A LOT of steps so you have to stick with it but the reward is that by the time you reach the end of those steps the tension is extremely high and it starts to feel like maybe anything can happen, which is a very far cry from where the book started. The first section of it is the book equivalent of being a frog in slowly heating water where all of a sudden you look around and it's boiling.
To be truthful, it goes beyond boiling it is more like blowing up the entire kitchen, but I do not want to say too much. Just that when the book transitioned from its first part to its second a few years later (not a spoiler, in the table of contents!) I was only a page or so in before I yelled out loud at it for a particularly impressive reveal. Right as I'd just thought I could relax. So sly, this book. The second part pulls together several pieces from the first, while once again slowly escalating the tension.
I have a few quibbles about the structure. The beginning takes a little long to get going, and then the end comes way too fast, but phew what a middle. A real gut punch of a book.
October 19, 2020
I’m sort of at a loss about this book because i feel like i missed something important at some point along the way. The first half of the book was amazing. I was thoroughly compelled by Mr. Sitwell and the Barclays’ home. But when things switched to being told from Jennie’s POV, i just could not keep up. It felt like the author had a lot of pithy statements to make and just had to invent situations to have those words come up in dialogue. I couldn’t tell if the Harper situation was analogous to something that happened in the real world, but i was very confused about all of that and these Farley characters that came out of nowhere. I also didn’t understand why Jennie spent most of her time acting high and mighty with people, making grand pronouncements about things to anyone and everyone.
A really good concept turned into something too convoluted to be worthwhile in the end.
A really good concept turned into something too convoluted to be worthwhile in the end.
January 21, 2021
This is the prequel to The Talented Ribkins where we are introduced to the family's patriarch August Sitwell. When I requested this book I was interested in seeing how many aspects of that book carried over:
* Examination of Race/ Class
* Unique Superpowers
* Family Bonds
Certainly, this novel deals with race relations and social justice issues. Where The Talented Ribkins was a contemporary novel that also centered on the Civil Rights Movement, The Rib King is set in the early 1900s. Our protagonists are black servants working for an affluent white family that has fallen on hard times. Hubbard uses this construct to emphasize power structures not only between race and class, but among the oppressed. Although both Sitwell and Bart have special "talents" there is not as much "magic" in The Rib King as there was in The Talented Ribkins. Here family is not based on biological relations, but on those you depend on for safety, survival and comfort.
The Rib King is divided into two halves. The first part is told by August Sitwell and the second is from the perspective of Jennie Williams ten years later. I walked into this book yearning to know more about the Ribkins family so I was more beholden by the first half despite its slower pace. Both of our narrators make decisions without having the full picture. In the first half Sitwell makes many mistakes but in his mind he was doing what was best for his "found family". Unfortunately, the fates of the servants were so intertwined that his missteps impacted everyone. In the second half there is much talk about "Associations." Everyone seems concerned with how their associations make them look. Instead of telling the truth and revealing what they know, they worry over the potential consequences. In this second novel, Hubbard has more historical references. Erasure and cultural appropriation are at the forefront.
Because of recent events my emotions and thoughts were all over the place. Many parts of this book rang true for the present even though it is supposed to be centered on a time period 100 years in the past. That said, I would definitely urge readers to pick this one up.
* Examination of Race/ Class
* Unique Superpowers
* Family Bonds
Certainly, this novel deals with race relations and social justice issues. Where The Talented Ribkins was a contemporary novel that also centered on the Civil Rights Movement, The Rib King is set in the early 1900s. Our protagonists are black servants working for an affluent white family that has fallen on hard times. Hubbard uses this construct to emphasize power structures not only between race and class, but among the oppressed. Although both Sitwell and Bart have special "talents" there is not as much "magic" in The Rib King as there was in The Talented Ribkins. Here family is not based on biological relations, but on those you depend on for safety, survival and comfort.
The Rib King is divided into two halves. The first part is told by August Sitwell and the second is from the perspective of Jennie Williams ten years later. I walked into this book yearning to know more about the Ribkins family so I was more beholden by the first half despite its slower pace. Both of our narrators make decisions without having the full picture. In the first half Sitwell makes many mistakes but in his mind he was doing what was best for his "found family". Unfortunately, the fates of the servants were so intertwined that his missteps impacted everyone. In the second half there is much talk about "Associations." Everyone seems concerned with how their associations make them look. Instead of telling the truth and revealing what they know, they worry over the potential consequences. In this second novel, Hubbard has more historical references. Erasure and cultural appropriation are at the forefront.
Because of recent events my emotions and thoughts were all over the place. Many parts of this book rang true for the present even though it is supposed to be centered on a time period 100 years in the past. That said, I would definitely urge readers to pick this one up.
June 18, 2022
Don't sleep on this deal: THE RIB KING is only $1.99 on Kindle!
Get it, there's no better beach read going. SALE ENDS TODAY!
Rating: 4* of five...truly on sentimental grounds
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.
Get it, there's no better beach read going. SALE ENDS TODAY!
Rating: 4* of five...truly on sentimental grounds
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.
October 14, 2021
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.
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.
March 20, 2021
3 stars for the first section, 2 stars for the second, where the plot took a turn that made no sense to me and spoiled everything around it. The first section was a warm depiction of the African American staff in the household of an apparently well-to-do white couple in Chicago in 1914. Mamie's kitchen is an oasis from racism and hardship, and the (mostly) likeable staff and slowly percolating plot kept my interest. The pacing was a little on the slow and ambling side, but suited the nature of the book. The second section revolved around one of my favorite characters and broadened out to include more of Chicago and its racism, while retaining that warm glow of community. All was well for me until the plot took that awkward turn. Characters either behaved out of character or handily reappeared and slotted too neatly into roles required for the plot, which made them seem cartoony. I found it a little hard to keep track of the improbables of the plot, at least partly because my interest was flagging and I started to speed read. I read a few published reviews (raves) that also got confused about the plot - and one reviewer thought it took place in DC. (I'm pretty sure it must be Chicago because of the references to what must have been the 1893 Columbian Exhibition/Worlds Fair.)
I felt like the author created a wonderful world, one that illuminated so much about black life and racism in the midwest, and then shoehorned in a crime plot to spice things up and resolve into a tidy ending. I think this book could have gone great places without it.
I felt like the author created a wonderful world, one that illuminated so much about black life and racism in the midwest, and then shoehorned in a crime plot to spice things up and resolve into a tidy ending. I think this book could have gone great places without it.
April 8, 2021
Should violence be met with non violence? Also what good is NON VIOLENCE if it gets us bloody nowhere??
Asking for a tired angry black girl
Asking for a tired angry black girl
January 19, 2021
I had a difficult time rating The Rib King. I enjoyed the story overall but I had trouble with the pacing. It took me a little while to get into it but once I did the story became more compelling and Hubbard covers a lot of ground showing how horribly and easily Black people are exploited, mistreated, and basically robbed of credit and benefit of their own ideas, creations, and general contributions. There is a lot going on in the story and is very character driven which is a big plus for me. This would be a really good pick for a book club and would be great for discussion and is the reason for my higher star rating. I haven't read anything else written by Hubbard and now I want to prioritize picking up The Talented Ribkins by her sooner rather than later.
I was provided an ARC of The Rib King from Amistad in exchange for an honest review.
Where you can find me:
•(♥).•*Monlatable Book Reviews*•.(♥)•
Twitter: @monicaisreading
Instagram: @readermonica
Goodreads Group: The Black Bookcase
I was provided an ARC of The Rib King from Amistad in exchange for an honest review.
Where you can find me:
•(♥).•*Monlatable Book Reviews*•.(♥)•
Twitter: @monicaisreading
Instagram: @readermonica
Goodreads Group: The Black Bookcase
August 11, 2021
I am still scratching my head at how a story about revolution and revenge managed to be so booooooring!
There were more rabbit trails than I have veins in my body, and they didn't add much to the story, except to make it more convoluted - and, did I mention boring? - than I could believe.
Since I listened to this as an audiobook, I was able to speed up the playback rate to get through it quicker. Otherwise, I don't think I'd have made it through.
Such a good premise - such poor execution.
Weak sauce, rib king.
There were more rabbit trails than I have veins in my body, and they didn't add much to the story, except to make it more convoluted - and, did I mention boring? - than I could believe.
Since I listened to this as an audiobook, I was able to speed up the playback rate to get through it quicker. Otherwise, I don't think I'd have made it through.
Such a good premise - such poor execution.
Weak sauce, rib king.
March 11, 2022
Ladee Hubbard is a thoughtfully provocative author; I will seek out all her future works!
Now I am compelled to return to The Talented Ribkins to enjoy finding all the connections between theses two books. The Rib King is historical fiction and a prequel to The Talented Ribkins.
Now I am compelled to return to The Talented Ribkins to enjoy finding all the connections between theses two books. The Rib King is historical fiction and a prequel to The Talented Ribkins.
November 29, 2020
2.5*
Thanks to Bookish-First for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review!
Disclaimer: These are my personal thoughts, and everyone is entitled to their own opinion. This review shows my own experience; keep in mind your preferences in books may be different.
This book is definitely unique, but it was also odd. What I got wasn’t what I went in expecting. Halfway through it took a turn from historical fiction to phycological weirdness. I was expecting a little more fighting for racial equality and not gang violence/turf wars. There was a bit of a business element to the story, but it didn’t add much.
When I’m thinking about it, I can’t think of a lot of strong points for this book. There wasn’t much depth in this novel. It was slow paced and there wasn’t an endgame in mind. You question the reason for reading it in the first place. It was kind of like just hearing about a person’s life without having a specific end to the story. I still don’t really get what the plot of this book was, and I read the whole thing. The ending was told to us and not shown; like the author gave up and quickly ended things. There wasn’t much emotion, plot growth, or lure. I wasn’t really able to connect to the characters or become involved with what was happening. It was a very passive reading experience.
Thanks to Bookish-First for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review!
Disclaimer: These are my personal thoughts, and everyone is entitled to their own opinion. This review shows my own experience; keep in mind your preferences in books may be different.
This book is definitely unique, but it was also odd. What I got wasn’t what I went in expecting. Halfway through it took a turn from historical fiction to phycological weirdness. I was expecting a little more fighting for racial equality and not gang violence/turf wars. There was a bit of a business element to the story, but it didn’t add much.
When I’m thinking about it, I can’t think of a lot of strong points for this book. There wasn’t much depth in this novel. It was slow paced and there wasn’t an endgame in mind. You question the reason for reading it in the first place. It was kind of like just hearing about a person’s life without having a specific end to the story. I still don’t really get what the plot of this book was, and I read the whole thing. The ending was told to us and not shown; like the author gave up and quickly ended things. There wasn’t much emotion, plot growth, or lure. I wasn’t really able to connect to the characters or become involved with what was happening. It was a very passive reading experience.
December 25, 2020
This was a very interesting and unique book that wasn’t what I expected but I did enjoy it. The first half of the book was told from Mr. Sitwell’s perspective, the Barclay’s groundskeeper who has worked for them since he was a young orphan they took in to work the kitchen. The second half is told from Jennie’s perspective a young mother who was a maid isn’t he Barclay’s home. This book was largely about race and the injustices that have occurred in our country as well as the underlying tension between races that has existed for years. It was sad for me to read about a ground of African American people wanting to protest a black man being shot in the middle of the street because how have we not gone anywhere or gone past killing black men on the streets? This was the kind of book that makes you think and it is uncomfortable to read at times but I think we do our best growing when we’re uncomfortable. The character of Sitwell who later became the Rib King wasn’t likeable but the reader was able to see how he became who exactly he is.
June 23, 2021
A very well written novel on racism, misogyny, and socio-economic classism in early 20th century America (and by extension contemporary America) using as a backdrop a once wealthy white family whose estate and business empire are now in decline. Author Ladee Hubbard makes a bold choice with the structure of the book, which presents as two distinct halves with different narrators and pacing. Both halves are complex and gripping in their own ways, and the characterizations are wonderful throughout.
Part 1 is told from the point of view of the enigmatic and fascinating "groundskeeper" August Sitwell, who is actually much more than he seems. This part also introduces us to a richly drawn cast of characters among the household's staff. To be honest I could have read 400 pages just in this storyline. Hubbard builds suspense masterfully as we see the impact of racism on Sitwell and the other members of the household's staff in big ways, small ways, and everything in between.
Then comes Part 2 and a wild fast-forward / gear shift as we pick up the story a decade hence from the point of view of the equally compelling Jennie Williams, a supporting character from Part 1. We get the broad strokes of the events that happened to Sitwell and the rest of the cast, but only gradually does Hubbard unfurl the details and motivations. Jennie is a great lead character in her own right and her story has a depth and resonance that contrasts nicely with Part 2's often breakneck (but never out of control) pacing.
At the time of the transition from Part 1 to Part 2 I did not want to leave Sitwell's POV, but having now finished I think Part 2 gave the novel a transfixing tension that it would not otherwise have had.... a tension between diverging impulses in the face of injustice: those for pragmatism and forgiveness vs those of fury and vengeance. Very thought provoking; I am definitely going to be reading more of this talented author.
Part 1 is told from the point of view of the enigmatic and fascinating "groundskeeper" August Sitwell, who is actually much more than he seems. This part also introduces us to a richly drawn cast of characters among the household's staff. To be honest I could have read 400 pages just in this storyline. Hubbard builds suspense masterfully as we see the impact of racism on Sitwell and the other members of the household's staff in big ways, small ways, and everything in between.
Then comes Part 2 and a wild fast-forward / gear shift as we pick up the story a decade hence from the point of view of the equally compelling Jennie Williams, a supporting character from Part 1. We get the broad strokes of the events that happened to Sitwell and the rest of the cast, but only gradually does Hubbard unfurl the details and motivations. Jennie is a great lead character in her own right and her story has a depth and resonance that contrasts nicely with Part 2's often breakneck (but never out of control) pacing.
At the time of the transition from Part 1 to Part 2 I did not want to leave Sitwell's POV, but having now finished I think Part 2 gave the novel a transfixing tension that it would not otherwise have had.... a tension between diverging impulses in the face of injustice: those for pragmatism and forgiveness vs those of fury and vengeance. Very thought provoking; I am definitely going to be reading more of this talented author.
December 1, 2020
The Rib King by Ladee Hubbard has several memorable characters and meaningful quotes! You first meet Mr. August Sitwell who has worked for the Barclays since childhood. He currently watches over the entire estate as the grounds keeper, but he has worked in almost all of the positions available. He inadvertently creates a delicious ‘meat sauce’ and becomes the face on the jar of ‘Rib King’ sauce – but he is also a murderer.
‘ Vigilance: that was what was required to keep the weeds out, what he has started to lose sight of by spending so much time in the house.‘
Jennie Williams worked as a maid for the Barclays alongside Mr. Sitwell, until the estate burnt down. She finds a name for herself as a beauty parlor owner and entrepreneur. She has created her own product, a multi-purpose beauty cream. Jennies life is always a question of trust: who to trust and who not to. Who will cheat her out of her entrepreneurial dream?
‘All such a waste of time. You can’t wish this world away and you can’t shoot your way out either. You just have to find the strength to rise above it. By being excellent. That’s how you cope with this world‘
This book is one great mystery. The reader is halfway through the book before they realize what a tightly woven plot it has. As you wind your way through Mr. Sitwell and Jennies ‘associates’ and connections you discover no one is who they seem to be.
‘How I hate the way people lie to themselves, come up with fanciful stories and ways to romanticize the surface of things. When all along the real truth is right there, staring them in the face.‘
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February 11, 2021there is a history in this country of telling Black people to go high when they go low, and frankly...it’s bullshit. it is cruel to always ask us to smile in the face of our oppressors and be deemed violent when we seek justice. that is what is at the center of this story, the repressed trauma of a Black man, and how he finally decided to stop smiling and looking the other way.
i ended up listening to the audiobook for this one, which was a first for me. it made me feel as if i were listening to one of those mystery radio shows. the first plot twist was easy to see coming, but i will say that as the book progressed, things happened in a way that took me by surprise. mr. sitwell is a surprising character. he is unassuming in the beginning, but we learn in the first half of the book the horrors he suffered as a child, and how they haunted him and drove him to such extremes.
and then there is jennie...she is like so many Black women, doing what must be done to give her child what she didn’t have. she struggles with what she thinks is good, but also knowing the horrors that this country rains down upon its Black citizens. she mostly tries to stay from under foot, but violence continues to follow her until she decides to take a stand.
this is a book about trauma, reparations, white privilege, and how no matter what we do they can never stand to see us get ahead. it’s definitely worth a read, but don’t expect anything too wild.
i ended up listening to the audiobook for this one, which was a first for me. it made me feel as if i were listening to one of those mystery radio shows. the first plot twist was easy to see coming, but i will say that as the book progressed, things happened in a way that took me by surprise. mr. sitwell is a surprising character. he is unassuming in the beginning, but we learn in the first half of the book the horrors he suffered as a child, and how they haunted him and drove him to such extremes.
and then there is jennie...she is like so many Black women, doing what must be done to give her child what she didn’t have. she struggles with what she thinks is good, but also knowing the horrors that this country rains down upon its Black citizens. she mostly tries to stay from under foot, but violence continues to follow her until she decides to take a stand.
this is a book about trauma, reparations, white privilege, and how no matter what we do they can never stand to see us get ahead. it’s definitely worth a read, but don’t expect anything too wild.
November 28, 2020
The Rib King by Ladee Hubbard. Thanks to @bookishfirst for the Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️
August Sitwell has worked for the wealthy Barclays for fifteen years. When he finds out they have lost their fortune, they set up sales of the cook’s rib sauce with August’s face on the bottle. He becomes The Rib King, but it is revealed that he has his own revenge agenda in mind.
Ladee Hubbard is obviously a very talented writer, which is why I gave this book three stars. Based on story alone, it probably would have been two stars. I was a bit confused by the back story, which ended up becoming a story within the book. It was only revealed a bit at a time and was confusing. This book really was almost two stories, broken into two parts. The second part occurred ten years after the first. A lot of moving parts came together, but I felt they were moving a bit too fast and flew over my head. The synopsis is also completely different than the story itself.
“Everyone danced for money in this world, Mr. Sitwell thought. The jailer danced for the rich man, the rich man danced for his investors. Mr. Sitwell, it sometimes seemed, danced for all of them at once.”
The Rib King comes out 1/19.
August Sitwell has worked for the wealthy Barclays for fifteen years. When he finds out they have lost their fortune, they set up sales of the cook’s rib sauce with August’s face on the bottle. He becomes The Rib King, but it is revealed that he has his own revenge agenda in mind.
Ladee Hubbard is obviously a very talented writer, which is why I gave this book three stars. Based on story alone, it probably would have been two stars. I was a bit confused by the back story, which ended up becoming a story within the book. It was only revealed a bit at a time and was confusing. This book really was almost two stories, broken into two parts. The second part occurred ten years after the first. A lot of moving parts came together, but I felt they were moving a bit too fast and flew over my head. The synopsis is also completely different than the story itself.
“Everyone danced for money in this world, Mr. Sitwell thought. The jailer danced for the rich man, the rich man danced for his investors. Mr. Sitwell, it sometimes seemed, danced for all of them at once.”
The Rib King comes out 1/19.
February 15, 2021
Brilliant. I don't necessarily disagree with other reviewers that this one is all over the place and oddly paced, but except for the last couple of pages, it really worked for me.
Around the midpoint of the book, I explained the plot to my boyfriend and his response was, "I've never heard of a book quite like that" (being the background story of a black man/woman whose image is used to sell a product). Same - and that is part of the freshness of The Rib King. It is both historical in setting and feels, through dialogue and description, like it is 0f the early 20th century. Yet, it is SO contemporary in the exploitation of black creation that it describes, which continues to this day.
Around the midpoint of the book, I explained the plot to my boyfriend and his response was, "I've never heard of a book quite like that" (being the background story of a black man/woman whose image is used to sell a product). Same - and that is part of the freshness of The Rib King. It is both historical in setting and feels, through dialogue and description, like it is 0f the early 20th century. Yet, it is SO contemporary in the exploitation of black creation that it describes, which continues to this day.
January 28, 2021
I literally ran through this book. There were so many twists and turns and sub stories going on that it just turned into such a wild supremely enjoyable ride. The characters back stories were so fleshed out that I found myself really rooting for them. There were mysteries inside mysteries as to who the true protagonist was but then you realize because of hidden circumstances he somehow becomes the antagonist. You've got to read this book!
July 9, 2021
Rounded up from 3.5
January 19, 2021
The Rib King is very beautifully written. From the very beginning, I was in awe at the pacing of the story. I often get deterred from books with long chapters (example, chapter 1 of this story is 34 pages), but I was very easily intrigued by the synopsis and storytelling.
We explore this timely story from two different perspectives. Unlike many stories however, this one does not alternate by chapters, but halfway through the book. I think this was a smart choice and gave to an excellent viewpoint into the characters and why they made the choices they made.
Without any spoilers, I will say that this book should be read with open eyes. This particular book may be one of fiction, but there are so many truths to it. It can be difficult to comprehend something you would never imagine and yet these actions occur daily because privilege is alive and beating strong.
We explore this timely story from two different perspectives. Unlike many stories however, this one does not alternate by chapters, but halfway through the book. I think this was a smart choice and gave to an excellent viewpoint into the characters and why they made the choices they made.
Without any spoilers, I will say that this book should be read with open eyes. This particular book may be one of fiction, but there are so many truths to it. It can be difficult to comprehend something you would never imagine and yet these actions occur daily because privilege is alive and beating strong.
March 1, 2022
This book has many layers to it, is set in 1920s America, and centres around black servants in a white household struggling to maintain some wealth and status. I enjoyed the beginning of the book and meeting the characters and their feelings on their places. To save money at an unexpected dinner party, the cook and the new butler cobble together a bbq sauce that one of the white dinner guests intends to bottle and market. The white host is paid, a caricature of the butler is used on the bottle, but no one else makes money. We then look at how everyone in the household is affected, including death by revenge. There is also a whole other substory happening of white vigilantism and black activism that lost me a bit simply because I wanted to read about the main characters.
March 23, 2021
OKay, so I loved the first 1/2 of the book and the only reason I took it down to 4 stars is because of the change in perspective in the 2nd half. I was so wrapped up in Mr. Stillwell, that the jump in time and POV through me off. I still liked what I read, and very telling of the times, but the lack of Mamie was disturbing.
February 17, 2022
Michaela says: "The Rib King" begins in an unnamed American city in 1914 at the estate of the Barclay’s, a white family whose financial situation is becoming more and more precarious. Employed at the house are a team of all-Black servants including Mamie, the cook; Mr. Sitwell, the groundskeeper; Jennie, a maid; and three teenage apprentices. The house has a history of taking in teenagers for employment as a way to help “reform” them. Mr. Sitwell was once an apprentice teen, and he rose through the ranks and stayed on. As such, he feels a certain allegiance to their well-being. As Mr. Sitwell deals with the realities of his employment and the rampant racism, he is often finding himself making quick and difficult decisions. This ultimately leads to Mr. Sitwell agreeing to give a recipe he and Mamie created for a rib sauce to one of Mr. Barclay’s associates, much to Mamie’s chagrin. But, when Mr. Sitwell’s past runs into him, the ramifications of his hasty decisions will have lasting impacts.
The second half of the book explores other themes of ownership, self-possession, and determination through the character Jennie, who now owns a shop and is an entrepreneur. As she grapples with her own life and business, the reverberations of Mr. Sitwell’s actions from a decade before can still be felt.
This book truly caught me off-guard. I tore through the first half, and at its main action I was left shocked. As the story continues to unravel and reveal itself in the second half, I was interested in how everything and everyone tied together. I don’t want to go too in-depth, as the book reveals information piecemeal, doling out each revelation at the perfect moment.
"The Rib King" is good for readers who like a large cast of characters; thought-provoking topics including racism, sexism, and classism; and stylistically complex writing.
The second half of the book explores other themes of ownership, self-possession, and determination through the character Jennie, who now owns a shop and is an entrepreneur. As she grapples with her own life and business, the reverberations of Mr. Sitwell’s actions from a decade before can still be felt.
This book truly caught me off-guard. I tore through the first half, and at its main action I was left shocked. As the story continues to unravel and reveal itself in the second half, I was interested in how everything and everyone tied together. I don’t want to go too in-depth, as the book reveals information piecemeal, doling out each revelation at the perfect moment.
"The Rib King" is good for readers who like a large cast of characters; thought-provoking topics including racism, sexism, and classism; and stylistically complex writing.
December 21, 2020
I was initially interested in The Rib King because it was compared to the movie Parasite. While both works focus on the indignities of the class system, and the bitter feelings the system can evoke in those at the bottom of the pile, that is where the similarities end. The Rib King by Ladee Hubbard is a twisting, exciting, revealing novel, focusing on the individual characters, rather than wider struggles.
This novel took me on such a journey, it's difficult to remember how the whole thing starts! The novel focuses on the staff on the Barclay house: Mr. Sitwell, the groundskeeper, Mamie, the cook, and Jennie, a new employee, and former dancer. Mr. Barclay has developed a gambling habit, and as a result, his luck, and money, are running out. When someone makes Barclay an offer that will save his falling empire, but will unfairly exploit his staff, Barclay follows the money. The rest of the novel follows the unexpected fallout of this decision.
My attempt at a synopsis does not even begin to convey the depth of this book. There are paragraphs that could easily be expanded to a whole other novel. I knew very little about The Rib King before I started reading, and didn't even understand the significance of the title until about halfway through the book. I had no idea where it was going, but I felt so invested in the journey. There is a lot going on in this book, but the characters are so vibrant, and the world is so well-established, that it never becomes overly complex.
I loved this book. I loved the characters, the story was so unbelievably compelling, and the writing was clear and confident. This is Ladee Hubbard's second novel, and I don't know how I managed to miss her debut. I'll be remedying that very soon.
This novel took me on such a journey, it's difficult to remember how the whole thing starts! The novel focuses on the staff on the Barclay house: Mr. Sitwell, the groundskeeper, Mamie, the cook, and Jennie, a new employee, and former dancer. Mr. Barclay has developed a gambling habit, and as a result, his luck, and money, are running out. When someone makes Barclay an offer that will save his falling empire, but will unfairly exploit his staff, Barclay follows the money. The rest of the novel follows the unexpected fallout of this decision.
My attempt at a synopsis does not even begin to convey the depth of this book. There are paragraphs that could easily be expanded to a whole other novel. I knew very little about The Rib King before I started reading, and didn't even understand the significance of the title until about halfway through the book. I had no idea where it was going, but I felt so invested in the journey. There is a lot going on in this book, but the characters are so vibrant, and the world is so well-established, that it never becomes overly complex.
I loved this book. I loved the characters, the story was so unbelievably compelling, and the writing was clear and confident. This is Ladee Hubbard's second novel, and I don't know how I managed to miss her debut. I'll be remedying that very soon.
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March 17, 2025This is, pun fully intended, crazysauce.
There is SO MUCH going on in this story, and the jacket copy doesn't do it justice. How can it, without spoilers? The story is convoluted. And yes, it's packed with race issues and racism and hatred and asshole white people that should make a person stop and consider. (Except, you know, when you see it and acknowledge it already, it's really hard to read because the only thing eye-opening about it is how badly you want to smack the whites and refuse to act like them.)
But actually, I'd argue that this book isn't about any of that. It's about guilt by association. It's about how responsible we are for each other's actions. It's about how our lives intertwine and what that ultimately means.
And it's about how cruel we can be to each other regardless of skin color, and yes I'm looking at the end, when Jennie does the ethically right thing even though it's not commercially the right thing, although there are plenty of other spots that illustrate this, too.
This was a really really well done book that deserves to be on any book club's reading list because there's so much here to discuss.
Just please, don't limit yourself and think this book is only about race. It's about so, so much more.
There is SO MUCH going on in this story, and the jacket copy doesn't do it justice. How can it, without spoilers? The story is convoluted. And yes, it's packed with race issues and racism and hatred and asshole white people that should make a person stop and consider. (Except, you know, when you see it and acknowledge it already, it's really hard to read because the only thing eye-opening about it is how badly you want to smack the whites and refuse to act like them.)
But actually, I'd argue that this book isn't about any of that. It's about guilt by association. It's about how responsible we are for each other's actions. It's about how our lives intertwine and what that ultimately means.
And it's about how cruel we can be to each other regardless of skin color, and yes I'm looking at the end, when Jennie does the ethically right thing even though it's not commercially the right thing, although there are plenty of other spots that illustrate this, too.
This was a really really well done book that deserves to be on any book club's reading list because there's so much here to discuss.
Just please, don't limit yourself and think this book is only about race. It's about so, so much more.
January 19, 2021
A wild story with super vivid characters! But it felt like the action was over as soon as it began. There was so much buildup, and most of the serious drama occurred off-page and was relayed to the reader after the fact. As a result, even though the story's concept was incredible, it felt weirdly clinical and anticlimactic. I actually had a lot more fun describing this wild plot to my (long-suffering) sister and watching her reactions to all the twists than I did reading it.
January 29, 2021
The first half of The Rib King was fascinating, but he second half almost felt as if it had been written by another writer: unfocused, too many characters and too many schemes.
October 6, 2021
One of my favorites of the year. Fantastic writing and a unique, haunting story.
March 30, 2022
I struggled with rating this book. I loved it from the start and really liked Sitwell and the character development. But then...
Switching to Jennie's perspective left me behind a little bit. I wasn't fully on board with the change in direction. Also the narration seemed to move from character driven to plot driven and I didn't enjoy it as much. Plus I found the politics and philosophy slinging to be dull. Then, a whirlwind of a 1 page climax and conclusion. Felt more than a little hasty.
Great story. Great writing in the first half, less engaging in the second half. Split second conclusion. I felt the original writing style remind me of a play (reminded me a lot of August Wilson, actually). But I'm definitely into the characters and am intrigued enough to want to check out The Talented Ribkins.
Switching to Jennie's perspective left me behind a little bit. I wasn't fully on board with the change in direction. Also the narration seemed to move from character driven to plot driven and I didn't enjoy it as much. Plus I found the politics and philosophy slinging to be dull. Then, a whirlwind of a 1 page climax and conclusion. Felt more than a little hasty.
Great story. Great writing in the first half, less engaging in the second half. Split second conclusion. I felt the original writing style remind me of a play (reminded me a lot of August Wilson, actually). But I'm definitely into the characters and am intrigued enough to want to check out The Talented Ribkins.
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