The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

The Kitchen House was chosen for our book group this month. The girl who chose it and I usually have the same taste in books, and I always look forward to reading what she recommends. I finished the book several days ago, and I keep ruminating over it. How do I express how I felt about the book?

Then I came across the Goodreads review of the book by another member of our group. It was spot on:

"This was the most horrifying, depressing book I have ever read. Yet I couldn't put it down or stop reading it. I hate violence, which was in full force here. But the topic was real and the writing compelling. It will be an interesting book club discussion next week. "

I honestly could not word it better myself. I could not put the book down. I can't wait to discuss it. I'm hoping someone can offer some glimmer of hope to be found from the book.

The book is primarily about slavery in the South. Hence, there's not a lot of room for hope or a joyful outcome. However, I would say the one thing I gleaned from the book was that the slaves made the best of the life they were given. They did not wallow in despair, but rather got on with life. I guess that's the lesson we can all take from the book.