Kathleen Grissom

The Kitchen House is a deeply emotional and unforgettable historical fiction novel that completely pulled me in. Set in the antebellum South, the story follows Lavinia, an orphaned indentured servant raised in the kitchen house alongside enslaved people on a Virginia plantation. The complex family dynamics and relationships are beautifully written and incredibly powerful.

Kathleen Grissom does an amazing job portraying the harsh realities of slavery, race, and abuse while still creating show more deeply human, layered characters you cannot help but care about. The story is heartbreaking, gripping, and impossible to put down.

This is an excellent book club pick with so many emotional and thought-provoking themes. A powerful and moving read that stays with you long after you finish. show less

I was excited to get an ARC copy of Glory Over Everything from the Publisher because while I have not yet read The Kitchen House, it is a book that I have been wanting to read (and after reading Glory Over Everything, I will go out today and buy the The Kitchen House).

The author really puts the reader inside the story - so much so that I feel like I've actually been living inside this book while reading it. I also never wanted the story to end. I loved the strong narrative drive and the show more characters. Pan will go down as one of my favorite all-time book characters.

This book made me think a lot about the circumstances in life that are forced upon us as well as the circumstances that we put ourselves in that are based on our own choices. The story examines the ability to overcome insurmountable situations through our own determination and resolve but also with the willingness to receive help and kindness from others (as well as also repaying those acts of kindness by then helping others when your situation has turned around).

When I reached the end of this book I wanted to know everything there was about the author, Kathleen Grissom, because I thought she wrote such an amazing book. The author's note was pretty simple and was one short sentence that basically said: "Kathleen is happily rooted in Southside, Virginia, where she continues to write." I read that short sentence to mean: It's not about me, it's about the writing, which in turn, was also the unselfishness and sacrifice that her characters portrayed in the story.

When I saw a woman pick up a copy of another book at Costco the other day and begin to read the back cover while Glory Over Everything sat beside it on the table, I had to insert myself and tell her that she needed to put down that book and read Glory Over Everything and that she wouldn't be disappointed. show less

I was truly engaged while reading The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom. It is a riveting story that compels the reader forward, not wanting for the book to end, but intrigued to discover the conclusion. The novel takes place during the 1800(s) in the south where slavery was considered normal and a right. There were parts of this novel that were difficult to read because of their graphic nature and because they vividly illustrated man's inhumanity. This was not a time period to be proud of, show more and the cruelty, heartlessness, discrimination and racism displayed made me cringe. However, the author also provided characters that represented the very best in people.

The reader comes to love Mama Mae, a black slave that is an integral part of the kitchen house and the heart of the novel. This kindhearted woman stole the story for me. Lavinia is a white indentured servant who is raised and loved by the black women of the kitchen house and their families. However, the fact that Lavinia is white changes her relationship with her "family" once her service contract ends and she is schooled in a different way of life. Lavinia is constantly torn between what is expected of her and what she feels for the loving family that raised her.

This is not a heartwarming story by any stretch of the imagination, although there were scenes that were touching, meaningful, and will stay with the reader. The tragedies and violence experienced are incredibly disturbing and haunting. This period of history deserved to be treated brutally and harshly. I had wished for a different ending, but the one provided was clearly more realistic.

I highly recommend this book. show less

Crow Mary is the new novel by Kathleen Grissom. After such a long wait between books, I am happy to report that Ms. Grissom has, once again, written a masterpiece.

Most of what makes Crow Mary so good is the marvel of a heroine that was Crow Mary. Her story is almost unbelievable if it weren't true. A Crow chief's daughter, Mary marries a white fur trader and follows him to his new trading post in Canada. What follows is heartbreaking and astounding.

Crow Mary is not another story about the show more power imbalance between the Native Americans and the "Yellow Eyes," aka white men. It is not a rehashing of the poor treatment and even worse opinions white people held about Native Americans. It is a simple story about one woman's experiences in the Montana and Canadian territories. It just so happens that one woman led a pretty unusual life.

In Crow Mary, Ms. Grissom lets Mary tell her story. The author fades into the background as you become wholly absorbed in Mary's words. She is so humble and matter-of-fact about what she does and sees that you can practically hear Mary telling her tale. What is a truly extraordinary feat becomes a mundane but necessary task in Mary's eyes, which only adds to the reader's delight.

While Crow Mary is not a commentary about what happened out west with the Native Americans, Ms. Grissom and Mary prove that any story about that time automatically becomes one when telling the story from the Native American viewpoint. Even though there are a few times where Mary outright condemns what is happening to her people, it is all too easy to understand her confusion and anger about the white people and their ways. You feel her disgust at the lies they told and the lack of consequences for those lies. At the same time, you understand the pride she feels about her Crow heritage and the honor with which she holds herself as an example of her people, and that is the most important takeaway from the novel.

There is no doubt Ms. Grissom is a talented writer. Her previous books remain popular and highly rated. With Crow Mary, readers get the pleasure of experiencing a remarkable author joining forces with a remarkable subject in the form of Crow Mary. Ms. Grissom takes you back to the 1870s, but Crow Mary keeps you spellbound. show less