The Rib King A Novel
The Rib King, a novel by Ladee Hubbard, is a reprint edition published by HarperCollins Publishers in 2022. This 384-page work intricately explores themes of race, class, and privilege in early twentieth-century America, focusing on the lives of black servants working for a declining upper-class white family. The narrative centers on August Sitwell, who has spent fifteen years as a groundskeeper for the Barclays, alongside other members of the all-black staff, including the talented cook Miss Mamie and the new maid Jennie Williams.
Readers will find a compelling examination of exploitation and the complexities of identity as the Barclays’ financial struggles lead to a proposal to market Miss Mamie’s rib sauce under the brand name “The Rib King.” This plan, which involves using a caricature of August, ignites a deep sense of humiliation and rage within him, culminating in a tragic outcome. The novel delves into painful stereotypes and critiques America’s fascination with black iconography, offering a fresh perspective on cultural heritage and societal dynamics.
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“Ultimately the reason to read The Rib King is not its timeliness or its insight into politics or Black culture, but because it accomplishes what the best fiction sets out to do: It drops you into a world you could not otherwise visit and makes you care deeply about what happens there.”–BookPage (starred review)
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 twentieth century that centers around the black servants of a down-on-its heels upper-class white family.
For fifteen 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.
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