Customer Reviews

Sin in Soul's Kitchen: A Novel (Zane Presents)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I looked at this novel several times before ordering it and once I did, I was pleasantly surprised. This was an incredibly enjoyable novel.

This is the story about, Thad, a Howard University grad who is caught between what he wants to do with his life and what he is expected to do based on his father's life. In the end, Thad follows his own path and along with other friends, opens a restaurant, 'Nubian Rhythm Kitchen' which has as it's base theme a place where African American from all walks of life can come and celebrate their culture and history

Of course, there are many setbacks, a conniving, obsessive and dangerous girlfriend who ultimately leads to his demise, an overbearing, unaccepting father who ultimately accepts and respects his son for who and what he is, an interesting interaction with a strickingly beautiful yet hard to figure out woman, and the loss of two friends, one through betrayal.

I was impressed by the authors portrayal of these young African American college graduates coming together and working hard to accomplish their dream and goals and doing so with a sense of ethnic pride and awareness. Unfortunately in the end, Thad comes full circle in a very interesting manner. This is actually a very good book which I think had been somewhat overlooked.

Sin was an interesting story of individualism and rising above the status quo. While an obsessive tug of love was the underlying theme, the struggle Thad encounters trying to spread his wings and make his dreams manifest was inspirational. Through his whole eye-opening journey and labor to please his woman, father, mother and the memory of his brother, I enjoyed this novel mainly because it shows the downside of bringing others into your dream and how friendships can be as phony as a three dollar bill. From a relationship aspect, this novel is a psychotic terror filled ride as Thad is strapped on to a woman who makes Glen Close in Fatal Attraction look like Martha Stewart meets Mr. Rogers.

I carried this book around with me for awhile, trying to make it through the first chapter. I make a habit of reading and finishing whatever I've purchased, no matter how bad or how long this takes. A lot of times I find it worth my while. That is the case with Sin In Souls Kitchen. Hold out past the first chapter and you'll be hooked through to the end. I guarantee. ...Talk about a 'sick chick'. Her name is Chelsea and she's got major issues. A major manipulator. What she gets away with in the name of the 'coochie' is insane. ... Learn some lessons from this brothers book and tape it to your mirror. It might save you some heartaches as well as nightmares.

Sin in Soul's Kitchen was a very delightful read. I found myself relating to and rooting for every character in the book, no matter how good or bad they turned out to be. Oyefesobi touches on some key issues affecting African Americans today. Professional achievement, self-determination/self-worth, relationships with friends/family, and obstacles to success are all touched on in the book. And the passionate interactions between characters makes sure the heat is always on HIGH! You never know who's doing what or what's going to happen next. If you like it HOT, definitely go into the kitchen. But don't come out without your SOUL!

Forget all the parrallel's to the 'Best Man', and 'Love Jones'. This book stands on its own, and marks the coming out of one of our generations next great novelist. I read it from cover to cover, then I read it again a week later to see what I missed the first time.

It took me a while to get into the flow of the book but once I did, it was a pretty decent book. However, the ending totally ticked me off. There was plenty of drama but the ending made all the drama rather pointless. What's the use of drama if you don't learn from it? Why suffer through so much tragedy if you're just going to end up back at square one?

Poetically Intense! A Burning Story! Medical Alert - will cause 3rd Degree Burns! These are the phrases that best describe what I read on the pages of "sin in soul's kitchen". Andrew Oyefesobi has created one heck of a story filled with extreme situations of nothing but DRAMA, creatively written!

Other reviewers have given you an oh so real front row center of this novel's story, so keeping it simple.............READ IT!

Read Sin in Soul's Kitchen and prepare to go on a psychotic roller coaster. Thad, with a Columbia MBA in hand is going against the grain and into business with his buddies. A plan they had all worked out. He is doing this much to the dismay of his father and his Girlfriend, Chelsea. Chelsea has her own agenda for Thad, and it does not include his friends or his business. But the real drama starts when Thad "sins" and he must, according to Chelsea atone for these sins. By the time you finsh with Sin in Soul's Kitchen, you will wonder who is the real psychotic one. Excellent novel and highly recommended.

I just couldn't put it down! No matter how hard I tried...I just couldn't put it down. This is one of only a few books that I have seen which truly speaks to the young black professional experience. Oyefesobi has found a way to bring together the joy, pain, sorrow, lust, and love that our generation encounters once we leave the protective bubble of college life...and enter "Soul's Kitchen". I can not wait to get my hands on the next literary masterpiece from Oyefesobi.

I have been wanting to read this novel for quite sometime and I was not about to walk out of the bookstore without it this past weekend. I am so glad that I purchased it because I read it in less than 24 hours. It is obvious from the very first page that the author is creative and intelligent. It shows throughout the novel in his descriptive dialogue and ability to craft a story. The novel shows what can happen when someone has inspirations that do not coincide with those who claim to love him. Thad wanted to live his life his own way and not the way that his father or girlfriend had envisioned it. That is something that so many of us have to go through, including myself, when we decide to make our own decisions in life. I can really appreciate in intricate message behind his words and I look forward to his next novel.