The typical antebellum narrative gives readers the sometimes horrific and sometimes lovely realities of the black and white plantation society. In Kathleen Grissom’s debut novel The Kitchen House lines get a little more blurred.
The story is dually narrated by Lavinia, an orphaned Irish indentured servant (an oft forgot part of the eighteenth century labor force) and Belle, the master’s illegitimate slave daughter. Lavinia develops deep bonds to her new slave family, but soon is forced into a white world. The straddling of two worlds brings characters into both physical and psychological battles that will keep you flipping fast.