The Rib King
By Ladee Hubbard
This masterfully built African American suspense story had me inching to the edge of the page after every chapter ! Hubbard created a piece set in the early 20th century in a mock city like Chicago using familiar characters in the roles of black servants in a white family home of “The Barclay’s.” Three words to describe this novel is ambition, race and revenge.
Just as the characters did within the story; Hubbard will have you, the reader, questioning is anyone actually who they seem to be ? We see the first narrator,Mr. Sitwell, secretly holding on to this heart of revenge for the death of his people due to race and the problematic issues that are deeply resonated in today’s society. What if we no longer responded to racism and police brutality with non-violence, but with full vengeance ?
The second half of this piece is narrated by a fellow servant in the big house, Jennie Williams . A women of hope, aspirations, ambition, will power and boldness that shows just how much a black woman can achieve despite the constraints of racism and misogyny.
I recommend this #readBlack read to you solely on the terms that it was perfectly built up with suspense and it represents African American history with hidden gems of Great Migration, the black-working class , the legacy of Marcus Garvey and the Black Lives Matter Movement. Thumbs up Ladee Hubbard I’m anticipating your next black literature piece!