I Been in Sorrow's Kitchen and Licked Out All the Pots

Incredible book. Funny, heartbreaking, brave, fearsome.Marietta, the protagonist, is a large, "blue-black" pregnant teenager in the Gullah speaking region of South Carolina. Big Ma (her granny) delivers her of a set of surprise twin boys (a scene that I, a midwife, found particularly engaging), and the rest of the book is Marietta's struggles to do right by her two hulking sons. Not to give the end away, but football becomes their salvation.The daring part of the book's construction is that huge sections of dialogue are rendered in accurate Gullah dialect. It takes a little getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, it flows beautifully and adds immeasurable richness to the reading.Don't miss this one.

I finished this extraordinary book a few days ago and just can't let go...I actually found myself speaking in the Gullah dialect for a time,I so loved Marietta("such a feminine name for such a big old girl...makes me think of Lemon Pie...")I kept thinking the whole time I was reading that this should of been an "Oprah" choice.Susan Strait is white,which is fascinating to me...I too am white...but it seems to me she writes the black experience with so much feeling.All race issues aside,this is a womans story (a "Large Woman's"story, which I have never seen done so well) and a single mothers story...From the great title to the wonderful ending...if you read nothing else this summer...take this one along to the beach....and stop for fried catfish on the way!!!

This novel drew me in from the first page. Susan Straight has a gift for describing society from the 60's to the 80's that time and again rang true for me. The tumult of the 60's Civil Rights Movement and the Me-Me-Me Generation of the 80's as shown in this novel could have come straight from Time magazine. Straight not only put words onto paper, she breathed life into Marietta, Aint Sister, Sinbad and "them two." I really felt this novel, something that hasn't happened in a long, long time. Also recommended is Jewel by Brett Lott.

I have followed Susan Straight since I first read a galley (pre-pub) edition of this novel, and I think this is her best work. She is on the mark in virtually every way: characters, language, imagery...even the cover art is wonderful! In fact, the promotional poster for it is hanging over my computer as I write this. A really good novel, but a really amazing FIRST novel. Much better than anything she wrote later, in fact. It's been years since I read it now, but this is one that has stuck with me. If you're hungry for more Susan Straight after this one, try Aquaboogie, an earlier novel-in-stories.

An absolutely incredible book that took me on a trip to South Carolina where I met a strong woman, Marietta Cook, who never moaned over her bad decisions, but made them work. I am so tired of those novels where the women continuously make bad decisions, then beat themselves up about it and never just move on to make the best out of it. Loved the language and the descriptions.