Cora’s Kitchen by Kimberly Garrett Brown (TLC Book Tour)

 

Are flowers still blooming in your area?  Blooms are fading in Northeast Wisconsin, but I was able to find some points of color this weekend around town.

In 1928, Cora James is a black librarian working in Harlem when she meets author Langston Hughes.  He inspires her to return to her dream of writing and to enter a writing contest.  Cora’s cousin Agnes is involved in a domestic dispute and is unable to work.  Cora takes a leave from her own job at the library to help Agnes hold her job working as a cook for a wealthy white family.  Cora discovers while working as a cook that she is able to get quiet time to work on her stories and also a sympathetic employer in Eleanor.  Eleanor shares her favorite novel with her, The Awakening, and also encourages her to write.  Will Cora be able to make her writing dreams come true?

I read through this book quickly and had a hard time putting the book down.  I found the story to be quite engaging and the character of Cora to be fascinating.  I really liked the unique format where we get Cora’s journal, a letter to Langston Hughes, a letter back from Langston Hughes, and the different short stories that Cora was writing.  There was a bit of a thriller to the end of the book, but I overall liked how Cora had to really realize what she wanted in life.  Should her dreams be denied?  Should she be open with her husband about her dreams?  How does your family and regular life fit into your dreams? 

Review Copy from Inanna Publications as part of the TLC Book Tour.  Thank-you! I received a
complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.