A review by henrygravesprince
Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts: Stories and Recipes from Five Generations of Black Country Cooks by Crystal Wilkinson

hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

In the interest of full disclosure, this review is specifically regarding a DRC copy of the book from Net Galley, so while I imagine this eBook was pretty close to finalized, some details may have been changed between my copy and the official release.

I would recommend this book to people with an interest in a wide variety of cultural foodways or particularly in Black, Appalachian, and/or southern foodways; anyone specifically interested in reading about Appalachian culture with a focus on the diversity of Appalachian experiences; and I would love for well-meaning outsiders who have misconceptions about Appalachian culture as inherently white to read this and widen their understanding. I also think a lot of my fellow white Appalachians need to read books like this, because I’ve seen a lot of people fail to grasp that Black Appalachian folks are not any less Appalachian than we are. I think the strongest aspect of this book is the throughline of grief and connection through cuisine as a distinxt expression of love, memory, and appreciation. On the flipside, I don’t think any aspect of this book is weak. I expected there to be a little more photography than there was, and I think more of it being featured wouldn’t hurt; overall, it’s well-balanced. I’m looking forward to checking out Wilkinson’s fiction oeuvre as part of my endeavor to read more Appalachian literature.

The construction of the text guides us through personal and familial anecdotes, as well as the context in which the foods came to be what they are, before showing us the recipes featured in those memories. Photography spreads of meals at hand accompanies the recipes, and photographs of Wilkinson’s family and ancestors are peppered throughout the book. The exposition through anecdotes is masterful, gorgeous—it’s incredibly evocative, effective at painting an image of memories for the reader, so intimate that it feels like our own. Every morsel of this book was impactful to me; half of this book resonated deeply in my soul as an Appalachian and the other half conveyed to me new dimensions of Black Appalachian history and culture. On just as many levels as I can’t relate to Wilkinson, I relate to her deeply. I get the impression that she chose what to include in this book very deliberately, and she did a wonderful job at that.

There’s a powerful throughline here of finding one’s ancestral path and identity through cuisine, of grief and love, of survival and homage. The recurring theme of connecting with family, alive and dead, over shared experiences and illuminating the dark corners of memory, with cuisine as a conduit, is staggeringly poignant and squeezes my heart. Wilkinson’s writing style is absolutely stunning. Syntax and phrasing is distinct and fresh, conveying meaning and intention clearly without recycling played-out cliches. The grammar is solid and consistent, not jumping out at me or distracting me from the reading experience at all, just how I like it. The use of description, memory, and metaphor in storytelling here are incredibly evocative and there’s a distinctly Appalachian rhythm to the writing in this book. Her words have a way of cutting right to the heart of something, and this book made me tear up every time I sat down to read it. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings