The Goddesses of Kitchen Avenue: A Novel (Paperback)

~ (Author) "My hands are shaky as the leaves on the trees today..." (more)
Key Phrases: slightest hit, Kitchen Avenue, Rick Marino, Spider Woman (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Unhappily separated from her husband at the start of this warmhearted but uneven novel by Samuel (A Piece of Heaven, etc.), 46-year-old Trudy tries to put her life back together with the help of her friends on Kitchen Avenue in Pueblo, Colo. Trudy wants to forget Rick, who cheated on her for months before she found a series of incriminating e-mails, but she still loves him desperately and can't give up hope that they might get back together. With plenty of free time on her hands-her three children are mostly grown and her job as a university secretary is undemanding-she finds herself wondering whether it's too late to travel to Spain and study poetry, things she planned to do before she married Rick and got pregnant. Meanwhile, Roberta, the elderly black woman next door, is mourning the loss of her husband, Edgar; Jade, Roberta's gorgeous social worker granddaughter, is trying to forget her jailbird ex-husband by training to be a boxer; and 24-year-old Shannelle, a mother of two, is struggling to be a writer despite the opposition of her blue-collar husband. All four women look out for one another, exchanging gossip, massages, lemon cake and advice. The arrival of a new neighbor, sultry Spanish photographer Angel, gives Trudy fresh confidence and encourages her to take control of her fate. The abrupt cuts from one woman's story to the next make for choppy reading, and Samuel relies rather heavily on New Age homilies, but her characters are warmly drawn and sympathetic, their problems real and believable.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

For a married woman, perhaps nothing is more devastating than the loss of love, yet out of that loss often comes a renewed sense of self. Such a painful yet poignant journey of self-discovery is navigated by Trudy, Jade, Roberta, and Shannelle--four luminous, laudable, and loving women nearly overwhelmed by their losses. For Trudy, it's a bewildering separation from her husband of 20-plus years. For Jade, it's a bitter divorce from a heartbreaking scoundrel. For Roberta, it's the death of her adored husband; and for Shannelle, it's an unhappy marriage to an unsympathetic man. Samuel, author of such popular novels as A Piece of Heaven (2002), confronts the dynamic of what it means to be a woman in and out of love--the rejection, doubt, anger, confusion, denial, and remorse--and conveys these roller-coaster emotions with a profound, passionate, and often playful wisdom through characters whose sensitivities ring genuine and true. Strong in ways they don't always realize, vulnerable to things they don't expect, Trudy, Jade, Roberta, and Shannelle are women whom readers will recognize, respect, and revere. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (December 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345477758
• ISBN-13: 978-0345477750
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #718,554 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous read!, February 20, 2004

By	Maudeen Wachsmith "BeachReader" (Port Townsend, WA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Goddesses of Kitchen Avenue (Hardcover)

I just finished THE GODDESSES OF KITCHEN AVENUE by Barbara Samuel and knew the first thing I had to do is tell others how wonderful this book is! To say it is brilliant is an understatement. I've always liked her writing but this one is the best she has ever done. I loved all these woman and was sucked into each and every one of their stories. I have one small complaint though and that is the cover. The cover shows several Caucasian woman in what looks like their 30s sitting around a table. In reality, the book features a black woman in her 80s, a mixed-race woman in her early 30s (IIRC), a white woman in her 20s, and a white woman in her 40s. There are only a few times in the book when they're even in the same room together. But that doesn't really take away from this wonderful story, there's romance, yes. But there is even more. I think the main theme of this book would be the empowerment of women. All these women find out something about themselves and that they can be individuals with or without a man in their lives. It is a true keeper and a book that is sure to get Barbara Samuel notice in more than just the romance community. I would say this book is at least on par with Gaffney's THE SAVING GRACES.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Author's talent clearly shows!, February 6, 2004

By	Detra Fitch (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Goddesses of Kitchen Avenue (Hardcover)

The story touches on a group of women, each going through a life crisis. The main character is Trudy Marino. She is 46 years-old and separated from, Rick, her husband of over 20 years. At the beginning of the book, Trudy's next door neighbor, Roberta Williams, has JUST become a widow. She had been with Edgar, her husband, for over 60 years.

Roberta's granddaughter, Jade, comes to help. Jade is going through her own male problems (with Dante) and takes up kick boxing to vent her frustrations. Though Trudy is the main character, Jade seemed to steal the spot light often. I looked forward to her chapters most.

The book is written in first person view and each chapter gives the name of the person whom the chapter represents. Sometimes the chapter is one of the other women in the group, but not often, such as Shannelle (another neighbor). But again I point out that Trudy, Jade, and often Roberta are the focus.

**** Now do not go thinking of the movie "First Wives Club", as I did, when you pick up this little gem. THIS tale is actually realistic! The author, Barbara Samuel, even included what looked like copies of emails sent to and fro the women. (I wonder if Hopefuls at yahoogroups.com is real. I will have to look that up. Hmmm...)

All-in-all, I found this to be a charming and modern day book with people that almost seemed real to me. Barbara Samuel's talent clearly shines through on every page! ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Goddesses and Ghosts, September 16, 2004

By	Mamalinde "mamalinde" (Dallas) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Goddesses of Kitchen Avenue (Hardcover)

Don't you just hate it when the cover artist obviously didn't read the book? I picked this up thinking "Sweet Potato Queens" or "Jennifer Cruisie" or one of those sassy chick lit tomes. Instead, I'm finding understanding and strength and comfort - and LOTS of insight and wisdom.

The story revolves around 4 neighbor women - from all walks of life and ethnicities - and one ghost. Roberta has just lost her husband of 60+ years; Trudy is on the brink of an empty nest when she discovers her husband's affair and throws him out; Roberta's granddaughter Jade is freshly out of a demoralizing marriage; and Shanelle is an escapee from white trailer trash, with two young sons and a macho husband who doesn't begin to understand her need to write. The women's boxing element nearly turned me from the book, but ended up being an interesting element. And the ghost Lucille was after my own middle aged, adventure seeking heart. The strength of women comes through in each page, not brassy or sassy, but faithful and steadfast and caring.

One particularly inspiring quote picked up the place in life where I live: "But the evening looms. The house thunders with emptiness. How could my old life be over so suddenly that after years and years of never having a minute to draw my breath now I have so much time that I feel myself sinking into it like quicksand, drowning in it? A mother finished. A wife dismissed."