The Kitchen House, by Kathleen Grissom

From the Timely and Timeless book discussion group on August 26, 2014.

With a lot of scheduling conflicts, Timely and Timeless Book Club attendance was very sparse in August.  But that didn’t keep us from having a good discussion.   The book we reviewed was The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom.  This is a first novel for Ms. Grissom.  It was an interesting story, but we felt that it was a little uneven in that the story was well developed most of the way through, but toward the end, it felt as if she was condensing the plot.

 

The story centers on Lavinia, a very young white Irish immigrant who loses her parents and brother on the crossing from Ireland to Virginia.  The white Captain takes her to his tobacco plantation as an indentured servant.  This forces her to straddle two worlds.  While she lives in the separate kitchen house with Belle, the black slave woman who is the Captain’s daughter, she is also integrated into daily life in the Captain’s house.  Mamma Mae becomes a mother figure in Lavinia’s life and this slave woman becomes the heart and soul of the story.   The theme of slavery and the relationships and attitudes between and among master and slave is once again laid bare through Ms. Grissom’s tale.

Because Lavinia was such a young girl when she arrived at the plantation and she was cared for in the kitchen house, she developed strong ties with Belle and several other slaves both young and old.  As time passes, she is given opportunities that the slaves do not have.  While the white household is portrayed as severely dysfunctional, the slave family is created as tightly bonded and adapted to the physical and psychological conditions of their situation.

There are also an inept and cruelly racist overseer, a diabolic tutor, and the Captain, who is, for most of the book, absent from the plantation.  Add in the Captain’s wife who has mental stability issues, their children and the scene is set for a lot of drama.

COMING UP: THE GLASS HOUSE – by Jeanette Walls – September 23 at the Oriental Buffet at noon

 For September, we will change gears by reading an autobiography.  From Amazon.com:

Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn't stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an "excitement addict." Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever. Later, when the money ran out, or the romance of the wandering life faded, the Walls retreated to the dismal West Virginia mining town -- and the family -- Rex Walls had done everything he could to escape. He drank. He stole the grocery money and disappeared for days. As the dysfunction of the family escalated, Jeannette and her brother and sisters had to fend for themselves, supporting one another as they weathered their parents' betrayals and, finally, found the resources and will to leave home. What is so astonishing about Jeannette Walls is not just that she had the guts and tenacity and intelligence to get out, but that she describes her parents with such deep affection and generosity. Hers is a story of triumph against all odds, but also a tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that despite its profound flaws gave her the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms. For two decades, Jeannette Walls hid her roots. Now she tells her own story. A regular contributor to MSNBC.com, she lives in New York and Long Island and is married to the writer John Taylor.

-Susan