Book Review: The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt by Andrea Bobotis

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this ebook from Sourcebooks, via Netgalley, free of charge, for blog review purposes on this blog. No compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it, all opinions are my own


This book touches on many historical issues in the South, 
so it's coming to you on History Thursday, just not officially part of the meme!

The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt cover


Synopsis: 

Set in the fictional town of Bound, South Carolina, once ruled by the Kratts and now struggling to contain its worst instincts, The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt explores the power of objects, the weight of memory, and the ties between who we are and what we own. Judith inherited all the Kratt family had to offer—the pie safe, the copper clock, the murder no one talks about. For decades, she's been the keeper of the family house, safeguarding its valuables and its secrets. But Rosemarie, her wayward younger sister, suddenly returns home, sparking Judith to write an inventory of all that belongs to them. As Judith writes, she finds that cataloging the family heirlooms can’t suppress their histories, not when Rosemarie is determined to expose what Judith had planned to take to her grave.

Interweaving the present with chilling flashbacks from one fateful evening in 1929, Judith pieces together a list of what matters, an undertaking that lays bare the very inheritance she'd hoped to forget—one of bigotry and survival in the segregated South. As Judith faces this troubled history, she must also confront its legacy in her own household, which she shares with her companion, Olva, who occupies the disquieting space between family member and one of the “help.” 

Review:
Ah, the 'old South'. Anymore it seems to be written about in such a way to diminish traditions and family memories. I went into this book, hoping it was not going to go that direction, but I was wrong. Which was sad, as one of the best lines in the lyrical text of the book is: She exhaled. ‘Memory and history are bound up with one another. Where does one end and the other begin?’”  
The book is so well written that I kept reading, even though I knew by the 3rd chapter EXACTLY where the book was going to end up (and it did). It is a story of assumptions, lies and greed more than anything else. And as anyone knows, when you add those 3 things together, there will always be a story to tell. I found myself hating most of the characters in the book because they seemed so 2 dimensional. And the end just flat out made me want to throw the proverbial book across the room- it just rang so UNTRUE to most of the Southerners I know (of ALL races).
I know the book has received 5 stars reviews all over, and it deserves some of those stars. I think ultimately it is a book you either love because you don't know the South, or you go /meh' cause you do, and you know what is missing.....


About the Author:
A native of South Carolina, Andrea holds a Ph.D. in English literature from the University of Virginia. She lives with her family in Denver, Colorado, where she teaches creative writing to youth at Lighthouse Writers Workshop. She also teaches yoga and is a national parks geek. 


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