The Rib King audiobook

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.

Intriguing story with a few exceptions Rating 3.75While 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.

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: @monicaisreadingInstagram: @readermonicaGoodreads Group: The Black Bookcase

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

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.

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.‘

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!

Rounded up from 3.5

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.

This 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.

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.

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.

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.