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

Susan Straight (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 15, 1993

"Straight's portrayal of a black woman's life is nearly miraculous in its astonishing richness of detail, its emotional honesty and its breadth of human thought and feeling." -- USA Today

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set primarily in a tiny Gullah-speaking village in South Carolina, Straight's elegant coming-of-age novel--a BOMC selection in cloth--is as monumental as the tall, taciturn woman whose life it traces. Selected as one of PW 's best books of 1992.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

YA-- Large, silent, 14-year-old, blue - black Marietta Cook leaves tiny Gullah-speaking Pine Gardens, South Carolina to seek her uncle and her fortune in Charleston when her mother dies. Learning the rhythms of the city, working for Frank in the fish market, going home to bear twins, working on a rice plantation, returning to Charleston and raising her boys--her life unfolds. Students can experience vicariously the community, family, and friendships that form the pulse of this woman's life from 1959 to her settling into her role as grandmother, California home owner, and perhaps, future bride in 1983. Time, place, and character are all well developed. A solid recommendation for students seeking a good story and a strong female protagonist as well as for those who need a book on black history.
- Barbara Hawkins, Oakton High School, Fairfax, VA
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Anchor; 11th edition (July 15, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385470126
• ISBN-13: 978-0385470124
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #456,571 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Susan Straight was born in Riverside, California, where she still lives with her three daughters, nephew, extended family of over 200, and chickens. She has published seven novels - Aquaboogie (1990), I Been in Sorrow's Kitchen and Licked Out All the Pots (1992), Blacker Than a Thousand Midnights (1994), The Gettin Place (1996), Highwire Moon (2001), A Million Nightingales (2006), and her latest, Take One Candle Light A Room (2010). Her short stories have been published in Zoetrope All-Story, McSweeneys, The Sun, Oxford American, O Henry Prize Stories, Best American Short Stories, and other places. Her story "The Golden Gopher," published in Los Angeles Noir, won the Edgar Award in 2007. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Harpers, The Believer, Reader's Digest, Family Circle and other magazines. Her website is www.susanstraight.com, featuring An American Family, with ties to ancestors from Switzerland, Africa, Canada, Oklahoma, Colorado, and California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning debut novel, and daring in its delivery, May 4, 2003

By 

Peggy Vincent "author and reader" (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I Been in Sorrow's Kitchen and Licked Out All the Pots (Paperback)

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.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Miss This One!!!, June 10, 2002

By 

Laurie Reeves (Cypress, California United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Been in Sorrow's Kitchen and Licked Out All the Pots (Paperback)

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!!!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Her first and best, June 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: I Been in Sorrow's Kitchen and Licked Out All the Pots (Paperback)

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.