
The Rib King
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Korey Jackson
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Adenrele Ojo
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By:
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Ladee Hubbard
About this listen
“Ladee Hubbard’s voice is a welcome original.” (Mary Gaitskill)
Upstairs, Downstairs meets Parasite: The acclaimed author of The Talented Ribkins deconstructs painful African American stereotypes and offers a fresh and searing critique on race, class, privilege, ambition, exploitation, and the seeds of rage in America in this intricately woven and masterfully executed historical novel, set in early the 20th century that centers around the Black servants of a down-on-its heels upper-class White family.
For 15 years August Sitwell has worked for the Barclays, a well-to-do White family who plucked him from an orphan asylum and gave him a job. The groundskeeper is part of the household’s all-Black staff, along with “Miss Mamie”, the talented cook, pretty new maid Jennie Williams, and three young kitchen apprentices - the latest orphan boys Mr. Barclay has taken in to "civilize" boys like August.
But the Barclays fortunes have fallen, and their money is almost gone. When a prospective business associate proposes selling Miss Mamie’s delicious rib sauce to local markets under the brand name “The Rib King” - using a caricature of a wildly grinning August on the label - Mr. Barclay, desperate for cash, agrees. Yet neither Miss Mamie nor August will see a dime. Humiliated, August grows increasingly distraught, his anger building to a rage that explodes in shocking tragedy.
Elegantly written and exhaustively researched, The Rib King is an unsparing examination of America’s fascination with Black iconography and exploitation that redefines African American stereotypes in literature. In this powerful, disturbing, and timely novel, Ladee Hubbard reveals who people actually are, and most importantly, who and what they are not.
©2021 Ladee Hubbard (P)2021 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
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surprise, surprise
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Makes me wonder about a bunch of products
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I usually only rate books I enjoy and rarely (if ever) write a negative review, but had to make an exception here as I do not understand the higher ratings. This book did motivate me to finally start working on a novel, because it seems to be successful and I know I could write a better novel than this.
All Over the Place and a Discombobulated Mess
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Anticlimactic
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Boring narration
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