
The Kitchen House
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Orlagh Cassidy
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Bahni Turpin
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By:
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Kathleen Grissom
About this listen
Orphaned during her passage from Ireland, young, white Lavinia arrives on the steps of the kitchen house and is placed, as an indentured servant, under the care of Belle, the master's illegitimate slave daughter. Lavinia learns to cook, clean, and serve food while guided by the quiet strength and love of her new family.
In time Lavinia is accepted into the world of the big house, caring for the master's opium-addicted wife and befriending his dangerous yet protective son. She attempts to straddle the worlds of the kitchen and big house, but her skin color will forever set her apart from Belle and the other slaves.
Through the unique eyes of Lavinia and Belle, Grissom's debut novel unfolds in a heartbreaking and ultimately hopeful story of class, race, dignity, deep-buried secrets, and familial bonds.
©2010 Kathleen Grissom (P)2017 Simon & SchusterListeners also enjoyed...
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Unhappy.
- By Kai on 03-18-21
By: Brian Johnson
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The Invention of Wings
- A Novel
- By: Sue Monk Kidd
- Narrated by: Jenna Lamia, Adepero Oduye, Sue Monk Kidd
- Length: 13 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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From the celebrated author of The Secret Life of Bees, a magnificent novel about two unforgettable American women. Writing at the height of her narrative and imaginative gifts, Sue Monk Kidd presents a masterpiece of hope, daring, the quest for freedom, and the desire to have a voice in the world - and it is now the newest Oprah’s Book Club 2.0 selection. Hetty “Handful” Grimke, an urban slave in early nineteenth century Charleston, yearns for life beyond the suffocating walls that enclose her within the wealthy Grimke household. The Grimke’s daughter, Sarah, has known from an early age she is meant to do something large in the world, but she is hemmed in by the limits imposed on women.
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If it Weren't True, I Wouldn't Have Believed it
- By FanB14 on 03-04-14
By: Sue Monk Kidd
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The Darkest Child
- By: Delores Phillips
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1958 Georgia, the shade of a 13-year-old black girl's skin can make the difference in her fate. Tangy Mae is the smartest of her mother's 10 children, but she is also the darkest complected. The Quinns - all different skin shades, all with unknown fathers - live with their charismatic, beautiful, and tyrannical mother, Rozelle, in poverty on the fringes of a Georgia town where Jim Crow rules. Rozelle's children live in fear of her mood swings and her violence, but they are devoted to her. Rozelle pulls her children out of school when they are 12 years old so that they can help support her by going to work.
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The Darkest Child
- By Beguiling on 04-02-18
By: Delores Phillips
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The Light over London
- By: Julia Kelly
- Narrated by: Lucy Brownhill
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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It’s always been easier for Cara Hargraves to bury herself in the past than confront the present, which is why working with a gruff but brilliant antiques dealer is perfect. While clearing out an estate, she pries open an old tin that holds the relics of a lost relationship: among the treasures, a World War II-era diary and a photograph of a young woman in uniform. Eager to find the author of the hauntingly beautiful, unfinished diary, Cara digs into this soldier’s life, but soon realizes she may not have been ready for the stark reality of wartime London she finds....
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Never Forget
- By Caliope on 05-15-19
By: Julia Kelly
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A Woman of Endurance
- A Novel
- By: Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa
- Narrated by: Tracey Leigh
- Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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A Woman of Endurance, set in nineteenth-century Puerto Rican plantation society, follows Pola, a deeply spiritual African woman who is captured and later sold for the purpose of breeding future slaves. The resulting babies are taken from her as soon as they are born. Pola loses the faith that has guided her and becomes embittered and defensive. The dehumanizing violence of her life almost destroys her. But this is not a novel of defeat but rather one of survival, regeneration, and reclamation of common humanity.
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The difference in this book.
- By all our stories on 06-08-22
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Always & Forever: A Saga of Slavery and Deliverance
- Plantation Series, Book 1
- By: Gretchen Craig
- Narrated by: Allyson Johnson
- Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Since they were children running barefoot about Toulouse Plantation, Josie and Cleo have been as close as sisters, forging an unbreakable bond that defies their roles as mistress and slave. Together, the two have shared secrets and protected each other through happiness and heartbreak. They never dream they could also share an intense passion for the same man, the elegant, charming, and irresistibly seductive Bertrand Chamard.
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Nope. Nope. Nope. And nope!
- By Jacqueline Landry on 06-24-20
By: Gretchen Craig
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Skin Folk
- Stories
- By: Nalo Hopkinson
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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In Skin Folk, with works ranging from science fiction to Caribbean folklore, passionate love to chilling horror, Nalo Hopkinson is at her award-winning best spinning tales like "Precious", in which the narrator spews valuable coins and gems from her mouth whenever she attempts to talk or sing. In "A Habit of Waste", a self-conscious woman undergoes elective surgery to alter her appearance; days later she's shocked to see her former body climbing onto a public bus.
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mindblowingly exquisite!!!
- By Amazon Customer on 12-23-20
By: Nalo Hopkinson
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Lazaretto
- A Novel
- By: Diane McKinney-Whetstone
- Narrated by: Adenrele Ojo
- Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Isolated on an island where two rivers meet, the Lazaretto quarantine hospital is the first stop for immigrants who wish to begin new lives in Philadelphia. The Lazaretto's black live-in staff forge a strong social community, and when one of them receives permission to get married on the island the mood is one of celebration, particularly since the white staff - save the opium-addicted doctor - are given leave for the weekend.
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Mediocre
- By atlfolk on 02-20-17
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The House of Special Purpose
- By: John Boyne
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 14 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Part love story, part historical epic, part tragedy, The House of Special Purpose illuminates an empire at the end of its reign. Living in England with his beloved wife, Zoya, Georgy prepares to make one final journey back to the Russia he once knew and loved, the Russia that both destroyed and defined him. As Georgy remembers days gone by, we are transported to Saint Petersburg, to the Winter Palace of the tzar, in the early twentieth century - a time of change, threat, and bloody revolution.
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Best book I have read in years!
- By Claudia Valeria Rion on 02-27-16
By: John Boyne
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The Color of Lightning
- By: Paulette Jiles
- Narrated by: Jack Garrett
- Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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A soaring work of the imagination based on oral histories of the post - Civil War years in North Texas, Paulette Jiles's The Color of Lightning is at once an intimate look into the hearts and hopes of tragically flawed human beings and a courageous reexamination of a dark American history.
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Not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach.
- By Merrilee R on 02-20-17
By: Paulette Jiles
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Orphan Train
- A Novel
- By: Christina Baker Kline
- Narrated by: Jessica Almasy, Suzanne Toren
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Penobscot Indian Molly Ayer is close to "aging out" out of the foster care system. A community-service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping Molly out of juvie and worse.... As she helps Vivian sort through her possessions and memories, Molly learns that she and Vivian aren’t as different as they seem to be. A young Irish immigrant orphaned in New York City, Vivian was put on a train to the Midwest with hundreds of other children whose destinies would be determined by luck and chance.
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Moving story of sharing and transformation.
- By Kathi on 04-03-13
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The Island of Sea Women
- A Novel
- By: Lisa See
- Narrated by: Jennifer Lim
- Length: 13 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Mi-ja and Young-sook, two girls living on the Korean island of Jeju, are best friends who come from very different backgrounds. When they are old enough, they begin working in the sea with their village’s all-female diving collective, led by Young-sook’s mother. As the girls take up their positions as baby divers, they know they are beginning a life of excitement and responsibility but also danger. This beautiful, thoughtful novel illuminates a world turned upside down, one where the women are in charge, engaging in dangerous, physical work, and the men take care of the children.
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Overly dramatic read
- By mary krause on 03-28-19
By: Lisa See
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Charleston's Daughter
- The Low Country Series, Book 1
- By: Sabra Waldfogel
- Narrated by: Allyson Johnson
- Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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A Charleston belle with slavery on her conscience. A slave with rebellion in her heart. In South Carolina in 1858, no friendship could be more dangerous.
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Great Historical Research
- By Carmen Lang on 11-26-20
By: Sabra Waldfogel
What listeners say about The Kitchen House
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- Abby's Mom
- 06-05-18
Superb narration
The story is so great but the voices that brought it life where so great also!
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3 people found this helpful
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- PMTyankee
- 07-25-20
Best book I’ve experienced in ages
I cannot say enough how much I recommend this book! The characters are so well described that you know each one intimately and you love them, hate them, laugh at them, feel sorry for them and understand them. I find the history of slavery so disturbing and revolting that I normally stay clear of reading about it. Not anymore. I now want to dive in and research this horrible past.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Paige
- 07-05-18
Wonderful story
This had to have been difficult for the author to write. The story unfolds the history of our ancestors, sometimes difficult to face. Well written, well narrated.
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- sheri
- 02-12-18
So good!
I felt like I knew the characters, loved this book! Couldn't wait to finish it.
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- T-Lu
- 05-04-19
Moving story - Beautifully written
I laughed, I cried, I got mad as hell and I felt for everyone of these characters. it was like I was next to them the whole way. One of my favorite reads even if it was hard at times. Great narration by one of my favorites as well.
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- Linda J. Reinhardt
- 09-22-20
Great read
I really loved the narration. Beautifully written and the narration added to it so perfectly.
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- tonee
- 10-04-19
Excellent!
The writing, the performance, the story line were fantastic & realistic. Riveting once you start- a true portrayal of our US history
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- Kindle Customer
- 12-02-18
so beautiful yet tragic
loved this story it was beautifully tragic . I would listen to it again. excellent
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- Mike
- 02-25-19
very informative of American history. sad
I struggled to get through the first half but later saw how the second half tied to the beginning. I really liked it
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- Shari
- 08-02-20
Good summer read
This book pulled me into a time of southern living that described different types of slavery, its abuses, its sometimes joys with poignant, character narratives. This story showed the far reaching dark side of abuse and how all lives are impacted because of it.
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