The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt by Andrea Bobotis
Published July 9th 2019 by Sourcebooks Landmark
Before I begin my review, I want to thank Davida at The Chocolate Lady’s Book Reviews for her recommendation. Her review had me adding this one to my TBR and I am so happy that I finally had the time to read it.
5 Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Wow, this book was not what I expected and I mean that in a good way. This is the story of the Kratt family and all they dealt with for several generations. It is a story of life in the south, the good and the bad. It is a story of racism, classism and how people treated one another for many years. We all have ideas of what it was like in the south as recent as the late 1900s, but Andrea Bobotis writes in such a way that you feel like you are there. You feel the heat, the bugs, see the cotton and run away to hide with those being hunted.
Miss Judith wants to make a list of all that she owns before it is her “time to go.” Of course what she owns is only worth what someone else would pay for it. So, she really doesn’t have a lot, but what she does have are the stories and the memories that go with each item. She also has secrets, secrets that she wants to keep close to her breast. Secrets that would harm the family name and some others. Unfortunately, when her sister, Rosemary, returns home she knows that keeping those secrets may not be as easy as she would like.
The story is a historical fiction tale of what it was like in South Carolina. The author does an amazing job with this dual timeline story, weaving the life of 80 something Judith with the past of the Kratt family, including a family murder. The descriptive writing gives us well-developed characters that we can easily picture. As the time changes, so does the way racial tensions loosen, but there are still issues to be dealt with. Although Judith was a bit strict and staid, as the story went on, I really started to like her. Amaryllis, the young girl that helped bring Judith out of herself, was wonderful. She was innocent and honest and curious which allowed Judith to share stories with her and then with us, the reader. This was an absorbing, all encompassing read. I did not stop reading until the last page. I loved this book and recommend it to anyone, especially those who love family sagas, good southern literature, mysteries, human drama and human rights issues.
About the Book: Some bury their secrets close to home. Others scatter them to the wind and hope they land somewhere far away.
Judith Kratt inherited all the Kratt family had to offer—the pie safe, the copper clock, the murder no one talks about. She knows it’s high time to make an inventory of her household and its valuables, but she finds that cataloging the family belongings—as well as their misfortunes—won’t contain her family’s secrets, not when her wayward sister suddenly returns, determined to expose skeletons the Kratts had hoped to take to their graves.
Interweaving the present with chilling flashbacks from one fateful evening in 1929, Judith pieces together the influence of her family on their small South Carolina cotton town, learning that the devastating effects of dark family secrets can last a lifetime and beyond.
May 17, 2020 at 5:40 pm
This sounds like just my cup ‘o tea! And I DID plan to read 20 books recommended by fellow bloggers in 2020. This was recommended by two!
LikeLiked by 1 person
May 17, 2020 at 6:04 pm
I was not sure about it, but I saw a couple of glowing recommendations by bloggers I usually agree with, so I took a chance and so glad I did.
LikeLiked by 1 person
May 14, 2020 at 10:29 pm
It sounds powerful. It is hard to write an emotionally honest book about racism without there being darkness. I agree that it might be better read when we have emerged from the pandemic.
LikeLiked by 1 person
May 15, 2020 at 12:07 am
I am surprised that I was able to read it now, but the writing was so wonderful and descriptive.
LikeLiked by 1 person
May 14, 2020 at 11:25 am
Glad you enjoyed it, Carla! Excellent review. ☺️
LikeLiked by 1 person
May 14, 2020 at 4:04 pm
Thanks Jenn. Glad to see you back to reading and blogging again. I hope all is well with you and your family.
LikeLike
May 14, 2020 at 1:48 am
You are very welcome. I’m so glad that I’m not the only one who read and loved this book. I tell EVERYONE about it because it seems to have gotten ignored. And it is a DEBUT novel, as well. How often do you find a debut novel that you can give 5/5 stars unreservedly to? In my experience, not often at all!
LikeLike
May 14, 2020 at 7:48 am
I didn’t realize it was a debut novel. That is amazing. I was totally swept away.
LikeLiked by 1 person
May 14, 2020 at 9:54 am
Yes, and the way she uses language… oh my!
LikeLiked by 1 person
May 14, 2020 at 12:29 am
Wow… Brilliant review Carla, again a genre I am not picking up at the moment.
LikeLike
May 14, 2020 at 7:50 am
It is a sad story, that’s for sure, but I hope you read it when the world moves forward into brighter times.
LikeLiked by 1 person
May 13, 2020 at 11:02 pm
So glad you loved this Carla. I thought it was excellent. 😷❤😍📚
LikeLiked by 3 people
May 14, 2020 at 7:51 am
I was totally engrossed in this story, did nothing else the day I read it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
May 13, 2020 at 8:35 pm
It was a little darker than I expected!
LikeLiked by 2 people
May 13, 2020 at 10:08 pm
Yes, there were some dark aspects for sure, but I thought they fit the story well.
LikeLiked by 2 people