--- description: Find out why "The Rib King" by Ladee Hubbard is on TIME's list of the must-read books from this year. title: 'The Rib King' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2021 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf80a50f1a988cbe7/6998cd3be1ba008edc98e4bd/time-hi-res.webp?branch=production&width=640&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Nov 22, 2021 # The Rib King by Ladee Hubbard by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  Following 2017’s critically acclaimed _The Talented Ribkins,_ Ladee Hubbard returns to themes of power, exploitation and race in her electrifying and imaginative sophomore release. In 1914 New Orleans, August Sitwell is the longtime groundskeeper (one of a small, entirely Black domestic staff) for the white Barclay family, whose wealth is almost entirely gone. When Mr. Barclay is approached by a businessman interested in selling the delicious rib sauce made by the Barclays’ chef, Miss Mamie, he jumps at the chance, using a caricature of August—a.k.a. “The Rib King”—as the face of the brand. A decade later, the Barclays’ former maid Jennie is an entrepreneur with a beauty line to sell, fighting her way through the unwelcoming and impenetrable world of white businessmen. Hubbard ties these threads with a powerful act of retribution; in total, it’s a beautifully crafted and resonant story about the consequences of the country’s violence against African Americans. **Buy Now:** _The Rib King_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9780062979063 "undefined") | [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3oFbKJQ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-must-read-books-2021/6120630/the-rib-king/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-must-read-books-2021/6120630/the-rib-king/"},"headline":"The Rib King","datePublished":"2021-11-22T14:44:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-02T23:58:07.194Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-must-read-books-2021/6120630/the-rib-king/","keywords":["Books","list","best books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf80a50f1a988cbe7/6998cd3be1ba008edc98e4bd/time-hi-res.webp?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf80a50f1a988cbe7/6998cd3be1ba008edc98e4bd/time-hi-res.webp?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-must-read-books-2021/6120630/the-rib-king/","name":"The Rib King"}}]}] ```