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Soul Kitchen: A Novel [Paperback]

Poppy Z. Brite
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)

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Book Description

July 25, 2006
If you can't stand the heat...Get the hell out of New Orleans!

Liquor has become one of the hottest restaurants in town, thanks in part to chefs Rickey and G-man’s wildly creative, booze-laced food. At the tail end of a busy Mardi Gras, Milford Goodman walks into their kitchen—he’s spent the last ten years in Angola Prison for murdering his boss, a wealthy New Orleans restaurateur, but has recently been exonerated on new evidence and released. Rickey remembers him as an ingenious chef and hires him on the spot.

When a pill-pushing doctor and a Carnival scion talk Rickey into consulting at the restaurant they’re opening in one of the city’s “floating casinos,” Rickey recommends Milford for the head chef position and stays on to supervise. But soon Rickey finds himself medicating a kitchen injury with the doctor’s wares, and G-man grows tired of holding down the fort at Liquor alone. As the new restaurant moves toward its opening, Rickey learns that Milford’s past is inextricably linked with one of the project’s backers, a man whose intentions begin to seem more and more sinister.

Full of the flavor of one of America’s greatest cities, Soul Kitchen is a sharp commentary on race relations in pre-Katrina New Orleans and a fast ride through the dark side of haute cuisine.

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Soul Kitchen: A Novel + Prime: A Novel + Liquor: A Novel
Price for all three: $37.27

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Chefs (and lovers) John Rickey and Gary "G-man" Stubbs (first appearing in Liquor and Prime) are once again involved in drama and suspense at their trendy eatery, Liquor. Chef Milford Goodman, an old friend of Rickey's, shows up after a 10-year prison stint for murder (of a restaurant owner) ends, thanks to a retrial acquittal. Just then, as it turns out, the current chef, Tanker, quits in a huff. Milford takes over, and through him, Rickey meets a manipulative, pill-pushing doctor named Lamotte, who pressures Rickey to join a restaurant venture, Soul Kitchen, involving a shady local businessman-investor, Clancy Fairbairn. Rickey, hooked on Lamotte-supplied Vicodin and wanting to give Milford the break he needs to become a top chef, agrees, various complications ensue, and the deal ends in tragedy. Throughout, Brite demonstrates a deep passion for and knowledge of New Orleans' food scene, and winningly sends up the city's wealthy elite, who "were like great dark sea creatures circling below the water's surface." The novel is brisk and entertaining, and manages to deal sharply with homophobia and racism amid a frothy plot. The novel was completed, Brite notes, the night before Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, the city where she was born and now lives with her chef husband. An open-ended conclusion hints at another installment to come. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

John Rickey and G-Man Stubbs have beaten the odds and are into their third year running the highly successful restaurant Liquor, a New Orleans eatery where everything on the menu is prepared with booze. Following Prime (2004) and Liquor (2005), this latest in Brite's innovative comic crime series continues to expand her vision of life on the foodie fast track. After spending 10 years in Angola for a crime he didn't commit, Milford Goodman, who was once one of the hottest chefs in the business, gets a new start with the help of Rickey and G-Man. What initially looks like a sweetheart deal helping Milford set up a state-of-the-art kitchen in a casino quickly starts to go south, as treachery and Old World evils are added to the menu. As with the earlier two novels, the key character in the book remains the city itself, with high times, hardball politics, and plenty of mayhem added to the menu as daily specials. The novel was completed on the night before Hurricane Katrina hit; fans will be waiting to see how Rickey and G-Man cope with post-Katrina New Orleans. Elliott Swanson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Broadway Books (July 25, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0307237656
  • ISBN-13: 978-0307237651
  • Product Dimensions: 0.6 x 5 x 8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #679,946 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm the author of eight novels, three short story collections, two nonfiction books, and some miscellanea. My earlier books -- LOST SOULS, DRAWING BLOOD, WORMWOOD, EXQUISITE CORPSE, THE LAZARUS HEART, ARE YOU LOATHSOME TONIGHT? (a.k.a. SELF-MADE MAN) -- tend toward the twisted, horrific, and frequently erotic. I still have a definite interest in this sort of thing, but my writing doesn't reflect it as much these days. My recent books -- THE VALUE OF X, THE DEVIL YOU KNOW, LIQUOR, PRIME, and the forthcoming SOUL KITCHEN -- all have to do (in varying degrees) with a couple of young New Orleans chefs named Rickey and G-man, their families, and their restaurant, Liquor. I've been married to a chef for 16 years now and he's still bringing me new stories. We lost our home in Hurricane Katrina, but we are back in New Orleans and doing our best to help rebuild the city. I'll note new books, anthology appearances and such here, but to read my day-to-day blog, please visit http://docbrite.livejournal.com/

Customer Reviews

As dark as the next book in the series has to be, I still look forward to reading it. A. White  |  6 reviewers made a similar statement
Real characters, real settings, and believable dialogue. Spencer P. Woods  |  10 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Well, I'm a longtime fan of all of Brite's work have been eagerly awaiting Soul Kitchen since I first saw the preorder page here on Amazon. By a fortunate accident, I managed to get my copy of Soul Kitchen several days early (not that I'm complaining), so yay I get to be one of the first to review it here.

First of all, the protagonists Rickey and G-man and are as lovable as ever and it's their sweet, subtle relationship that keeps me going back for more. Brite never fails to deliver with wonderful interaction between them that can go from making me cry to going all warm and fuzzy (multiples times with the same book, in some cases) with these two. Soul Kitchen delivers on that mark.

I also liked the aspect of racism and homophobia and the way that they are viewed from both sides. All of her characters offer diverse insights and the book makes you think about your own stance on certain issues from time to time, or at least it made me think. But don't worry, it's not preachy by any means. The "have gays suffered the same way black have" issue is still one I'm not 100% sure how I feel about. It's new territory for a Brite novel, so congrats on pushing forward rather than backtracking old ground PBZ. =)

The plot was good, the new crooked villain was not quite as interesting as Prime's but not as annoying as Liquor's. I've read before that people think her villains often lack luster, and being a big villain fan I should probably care, but overly intruiging bad guys would most likely take away from the heart of the series, so I'm not complaining.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Rickey abnd G-man, as fine as ever. August 24, 2006
Format:Paperback
Poppy Z. Brite, Soul Kitchen (Three Rivers Press, 2006)

The Rickey and G-Man series, now in its third or fourth book (depending on to whom one talks; there has been debate for what seems like ages about whether The Value of X can be soncidered the first book in the series or not), continues on apace, and as fine as it's ever been. Liquor has now been a going concern for three years, and is still on top of the world, despite what seem to be neverending problems, both personal and professional, for the pair (Rickey more so than G-Man, natch). This time, the problems start when Milford Goodman, an ex-con framed for the murder of his last employer, comes in looking for a job. Rickey remembers him as a brilliant chef, and hires him-- much to the chagrin of a number of prominent townsfolk. When one of Rickey's regulars approaches him with the idea of consulting for a restaurant the regular is planning on opening on a floating casino, Rickey nominates Milford as the head chef. All well and good, until they find out one of the place's silent partners is connected to Milford's last employer's death.

None of the above is a spoiler, by the way, though it takes you about halfway through the novel; it's no more than you'll find out reading the back cover copy. Brite has once again given us a fun plot, some wonderful new characters, subplots to complicate things, and a smash-bang climax that will have you alternately laughing and cowering, but what she really has offered us in this series, what really makes it worth reading, is a stable of complex, well-drawn characters going about their daily business (what Maureen Corrigan calls a "work novel," at least in part). And that daily business is very, very interesting. If you like food-- and who doesn't?
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Heart, Soul and a Whole Lot More July 25, 2006
Format:Paperback
The LIQUOR books continue and SOUL KITCHEN is a truly fine edition to the series. I completely admit to being hooked on the lives of Rickey and G-man due to the hard-won way their author, Poppy Z. Brite, brings them to life. There is a low-country, unhurried and vernacular-perfect yet completely contemporary elegance to her prose that only comes from intense hard work and much agonizing over each sentence. While many authors are content to distractedly bang out serial novels once an acceptable groove has been found, Brite is one of the rare ones that really believes her creations deserve no less than the best. The attention to detail and the fact her characters live on in my head long after I close the cover means, at least to this reader, that she's one of the rare ones who truly can write about anything she darn well pleases and that will certainly please anyone that appreciates a good read.

In SOUL KITCHEN, I was pleased and proud to find that Rickey and G-man have not only had further adventures in the delightfully well-told restaurant world but also have grown emotionally. They've changed in that way many real people wish they could, by facing personal and professional challenges head-on and rising to them, if not rising over them. There are recaps of some of the events in earlier books and I find them to be like looking at favorite pictures again. They help to tie the lives of the characters together in a way that some other authors burden the reader with doing. By including relevant reminders of which chef's knives are on the mantelpieces (so to speak,) it helps to know where things might go in SOUL KITCHEN.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Bittersweet
Well I basically finished the main books in the Liqour series...now to read the prequel of sorts/the Value of X and the short novella called DUCK then I'll be done...:`(. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Poppa Panda
5.0 out of 5 stars dont want it to end
I had to purchase this because a foster dog tore up the one from the Library. But I was almost glad because it gave me an extra couple weeks before it ended.
Published 4 months ago by big red dog
5.0 out of 5 stars Rickey and G-man own my heart!
Poppy Z. Brite's horror novels are way too horrifying for me. Fortunately, I bought Liquor before I knew that. Read more
Published on May 31, 2009 by Pelba Dalrymple
3.0 out of 5 stars A fast, enjoyable read
My least favorite of the series about two NOLA chefs, it is nonetheless well written with lively characters.
Published on May 19, 2008 by Film Fan Scot
5.0 out of 5 stars I wish my kitchen had this much soul...
I have to admit. I'm new to Poppy. Having filled my teenage mind back in high school with the likes of King, Rice, and Koontz, I was hesitant to start at the beginning of Brite's... Read more
Published on September 9, 2007 by Shannon L. Yarbrough
4.0 out of 5 stars "Soul Kitchen" delivers the goods
Reading "Soul Kitchen," the third book in Poppy Z. Brite's series about chefs John Rickey and Gary "G-Man" Stubbs, is a little like having old friends over for a potluck. Read more
Published on September 9, 2007 by Kris Dotto
1.0 out of 5 stars not good.
ok i realize im the lone detractor out of 30 reviews, but ill be the bad guy... this book was bad. i live in new orleans and im a foodie, so i thought id get a kick out of it, but... Read more
Published on August 21, 2007 by Kyron
5.0 out of 5 stars Yum - YUM !!
Where do I start ?--- I first read "Exquisite Corpse" and thought:"Holy SHIA!- This one can write!-"But would I want to meet her on a dark night? Read more
Published on March 23, 2007 by Joan Bennett
5.0 out of 5 stars Well, the clock says it's time to close now...
It was the best of times it was the worst of times...for Chefs John Rickey, Gary Stubbs and the rest of the Liquor restaurant crew. Read more
Published on January 23, 2007 by Carl Kesner II
4.0 out of 5 stars Hungry for a good book?
Some people classify Poppy Z. Brite's recent novels as mysteries, but that's not exactly right. Though her "Liquor" books (Soul Kitchen is the third installment) contain crimes,... Read more
Published on November 11, 2006 by Dr Beverly R Vincent
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Belatedly, no, that particular tale has not been written (though I do hope to do so one day). However, there is a stand-alone Peychaud Grill story called "The Working Slob's Prayer." It was first published in the 2005 anthology OUTSIDERS, edited by Nancy Holder and Nancy Kilpatrick, and... Read more
Sep 20, 2006 by Poppy Z. Brite |  See all 2 posts
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