I loved The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt by Andrea Bobotis. I am a sucker for good southern fiction, I really enjoy books that take place in South Carolina, Georgia and so on. This one takes place in the 1920s, such an interesting time in history! As 75 year old Judith begins to inventory family heirlooms before her estranged sister returns, she recalls stories and the significance of each valuable.

‘Memory and history are bound up with one another. Where does one end and the other begin?’

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.

The book is both a mystery and historical fiction. As the pages turn, more secrets are revealed and I think the book got better and better as I turned the pages. Add this to your MUST READ list.

Due July 9.

I enjoyed the book and really liked it. Waiting to hear more from the author. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc.

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt by Andrea Bobotis is a story of the Kratt family told from Miss Judith Kratt's, the oldest of the Kratt children, point of view. Using flashbacks, she shares secrets of her town, her neighbors and her family and tackles the subjects of family, race in the South, loss, love, loyalty, and friendship. Judith begins the story by deciding to inventory the many possessions in her estate. The possessions themselves become characters and help move the story along.

From the synopsis, I had thought it would be more of an action book. Several readers on Goodreads shelved it as a mystery. It was neither. It is a character driven fiction novel. If you have ever had the opportunity to sit on a porch in the south, drinking a glass of sweet tea or lemonade, and listen to someone tell a story then you are familiar with how it felt to read this. It took you to Miss Judith's porch, as if you were sitting there with her and her companion, Olva, as Miss Judith tells the story of her life.

The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt is the debut novel of Andrea Bobotis.



Review published on Goodreads on 4/15/19. Will publish on Philomathinphila.com, Smashbomb, Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble on its release date, 7/9/19. When available, the review will be published on Scribd.com and, using Overdrive, will be rated in 9 libraries.

As a child Judith Kratt lived a life shaped around a need for love and acceptance from her father and her mercilessly keen observation and perspective of the world around her. Now in her old age she has the dubious distinction of continuing to live in the southern town her father literally built. Once of family of means, the Kratt’s fell on hard times and now Miss Judith’s house, once the grandest in the town of Bound, currently stands as a lonely monument to the misfortune and scandal that befell the family.

Judith has decided to inventory the heirlooms acquired by the Kratt’s over the years and as she does each item brings a memory of some long ago event…..some bad and some good……leading us to wonder if the items that we choose to collect over a lifetime are a reflection of who we are and of the memories we elect to save.

Andrea Bobotis’s writing converts the words on the page to a moving picture as she provides a sweeping, poignant saga that examines innumerable subjects ranging from race relations, female strength and sibling rivalry to familial relationships and the tenuous ties that bind us. 4 1/2 stars

This is a tough review for me to write. I'm very torn over this book.
I originally started it and couldn't get into it , I put it down for nearly a month before trying again. Once I reached around 30% an undercurrent pulled me in, ripples began to show on the surface and I felt dramas and secrets were about to break through. I was gripped , for a time. The dramas unfolded very slowly.

I wasn't invested in the characters, I wasn't rooting for any one in particular .
I felt there were many loose ends that didn't get tied and I was left with many questions .

However, the overall story line was interesting, the era and southern theme were well written and authentic.
I liked the list, the ever changing and evolving list as the memories and flashbacks came . It was an original idea and the style of writing was unique.

I think this could be a lovely book for some people.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Arc of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I found this novel tough going. I heard on the radio recently that a good story involves giving your audience a solid dose of dopamine, this is the magic ingredient that 'hooks' the reader. For me there was no dopamine. The story dragged with no real surprises. Sorry. Have to say that I didn't enjoy this novel.

“You know nothing of it’s history!” I said, pointing my finger at her. “Even if you did, you can’t change the history of an object because you don’t fancy the story it tells. Then again, escaping history seems to have been your life’s work!”
A debut novel written with a crisp Southern voice set in a fictional town in South Carolina.
The story follows the protagonist as she attempts to make a list of all her family heirlooms and in the process reveals the mystery of her brother’s murder more than 60 years ago as well as long buried family secrets!
It is historical fiction intertwined with mystery.
I loved everything about this book. The writing is flawless and I highly recommend it.

Thank you @netgalley and #sourcebooks for my free eARC in exchange for an honest review. Release date 9 July 2019.

Miss Judith Kratt is 75 and knows that her life is coming near to the end. When her sister suddenly returns, she decides that it is time to inventory her home to pass down. With each item she re-lives her glorious and tumultuous past. Many of the fine items are linked to the businesses her father owned, including the local department store. Each item holds clues to the family’s past and the truth of her father’s death.

This novel takes place in the south during the 1920s and the late 1980s. The novel does contain language and a portrayal of racism that would be considered typical for the time and setting. The mystery is engaging, and the reader will want to keep reading to find out the truth about the family’s downfall. This is a good novel for those who liked The Help, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café, or historical fiction set in the south.

Miss Judith decides to do an "inventory" of the family heirlooms and in doing so reveals to us a story connecting those things to the characters and her family. This is a story touching on sensitive topics but told with a great "Southern" voice. A solid read.

**Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley in exchange of an honest opinion.**

This was quite boring, with no likable characters. I think there was an interesting story in there, but I couldn't eek it out. Not a fan.

This book drew me in with its Southern voice and a complex heroine. I liked both the scenes set in the present, as well as the flashbacks to a gone-away world of 1929. A bit of history, a big dollop of secrets, this is more than crime fiction or history fiction or a memoir.

Judith Kratt is a lonely old woman. She is 75 and lives with a woman she half treats as a friend and half as a servant. She has secrets, as does everyone in this tale. She is obsessed with her home and cataloging the contents. Her family was torn apart 60 years before by the murder of her brother. In fairness, it was a horrible family on the brink of falling apart its entire existence. Her brother was murdered, her little sister disappeared and her mother seemed to fade away as unimportant.

Now, her sister is back and Judith knows something more is coming. She will have to face what happened all of those years ago, and worse, why it happened. She comes from a truly powerful and horrible family. Her mother made choices that hurt her family for decades. Her father was an abusive, violent, dishonest tyrant. Her brother was sneaky, lazy, and cold, blackmailing the entire town to win favor with his father.

So many secrets, though most were not a surprise for the reader.

Lists. We make them all the time. We check them, lose them, forget them. Miss Judith was making a list of possessions which did not bring her joy. Sadly, things like family and friendships and people didn't make her list. I felt her life never moved forward.. She was betrayed by family members. Lied to by her mother. Used by her father to line his pockets. After sixty years, I felt she was getting a chance to experience a family she didn't realize she had.
I wonder how many other Judiths there are out there. Women who were kept from reaching their full potential.

Part drama, part history, part horror. This was a very good book that starkly told the tale of southern history in a way that hasn't been done. I enjoyed this book.

Oh, how I wanted to give this book a lovely review. Even from the very opening and meeting the first characters, I thought, "yes, this will be wonderful." Sadly, it was about halfway through that my interest began to wane, the story became a little too ordinary. Granted, the premise itself, I will always think was a good one. I had hoped for more. I do think it will still do well though; it will appeal to certain people who will never tire of the racism, family trauma, old white Southern people books. So, all my best to the author.

Miss Judith Kratt is a prim and proper spinster whose life is about to be turned upside down. Judith was born in Bound. Her father was the town’s most successful businessman. He made his money in cotton. As his business empire grew, he depended on his children Judith, the oldest, and Quincy, the middle child. Judith was his right hand daughter. She worked in the family mercantile. Quincy was the one who needed daddy’s approval. And then there is Rosemarie, the youngest. She is the beautiful, wild one. Rosemarie was not depended on for anything.

As we meet Miss Judith, she is living in the family home with Olva. Olva grew up in the home of Miss Judith’s aunt Dee, but is as much a member of the Pratt family as anyone. Miss Judith, at the ripe old age of seventy-five has decided to catalog the contents of the family home. The important things that are in it. Miss Judith puts a lot of worth into the things. Olva doesn’t seem to agree.

The story is written in current and past tense, between the current day Judith and the stories of the things and her life as a young adult in the 1920s and 30s. Central to many of the tales are the “things” that she holds dear. The underlying narrative tells us about Judith’s life and the lives of those around her. How secrets and lies can tie up a family in knots. How what appears on the surface may not be what is the truth.

This book is like the south itself, slow moving and solid. It is to be savored, not rushed through. Interspersed throughout is the actual list of objects, which grows with every chapter. It is the list that ties the whole story together. While it is slow moving, it is beautifully written. It brings forth a story about the segregated south that on the surface appears to have improved but deep down, there are still hidden secrets to be uncovered. I enjoyed this book very much.

Loved this book, I always looking forward to reading novels about the south and this was a good one. Have already recommended it to several of my patrons at the library where I work,.

The setting: small-town Bound, South Carolina, 1929 and 1989. Judith Kratt's family-- wealthy and influential back then [until...]. Judith, now in her 70s, decides to take an inventory of the family/house belongings. I wondered why list in in the title as the book refers to it as Judith's inventory--but I don't think the title The Last Inventory of Miss Judith Kratt would have worked as well.

The past is dark and holds many secrets. The inventory slowly reveals both. Judith [white] has been living in the same house [and not leaving it] for 60 years with Olva [black], her companion. They are the two main characters though others [in particular her parents and brother Quincy] but also others including Dee and Charlie [past], and Marcus and his daughter Amaryllis [present], are important to the story. Daddy Kratt, Judith's father, is vividly portrayed; he is despicable. Her mother, more pitiable, but...Her sister, Rosemarie, left suddenly 5o years ago and just as suddently reappears. Why? Read on.

The inventory grows as items are listed and their history revealed in the preceding chapter.

There is sibling rivalry, family dysfunction, and racism. Past and present.

A well-written tome, I found this book a combination of heartwarming, poignant, and disturbing.

Loved some of the descriptions both for their images and humor:

"words dropped from his economical mouth"

"...boorish man whose two-storied face had extra square footage on his forehead..."

"Children can be cruel, and I dont' know why that isn't a more frequent topic of conversation."

"A genealogical rung down, Jolly's spiteful buoyancy had degraded into a blunter kind of malice in her offspring."

"Dee herself resembled a sturdy tuber resilient and substantial and guranteed to be around a long while if stored properly."

"The receptionist, chewing gum as if it were her job."

And so many more.

Not necessarily a fast read, but I enjoyed it and was compelled to persevere and see how the story would unfold.

Recommend.

A poignant, rich and ambitious novel with wonderfully realized characters--which will give readers a lot to think about. Timely and moving--

The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt reminds me of chatter and scandals that are passed from one generation to the next. The author takes her time developing the story. Soon, however, it grabbed me, and I couldn’t put it down.

It’s written in the first person, and Judith is the one telling the story. We learn about Daddy Kratt, who is the most malicious man ever; Daddy Kratt let nothing get in the way of his getting what he wanted and had harsh consequences for anyone standing in that way.

We learned about Judith’s younger brother, Quincy, the town snitch; Quincy’s forte was to find out juicy secrets about everyone and blackmail them with that information for his own vile purposes.

Rosemarie is Judith’s younger sister who runs away when she’s thirteen and returns many years later as the family secrets begin unfolding.

Dear Olva has her own interesting history as do so many others, including Mama, Marcus, Amaryllis, Charlie, and more.

The family’s story is pieced together as Judith takes an inventory of her possessions along with an account of her life. Many secrets are unraveled as we learn of their foibles and imperfections.

I was most entertained by the author’s descriptive use of words. There were so many clever phrases that quickly brought to my mind what she was intending. One such example is, “The receptionist, chewing gum as if it were her job ...” had me picturing clearly this gum-chomping woman.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. I enjoyed every word. Well done, Ms. Bobotis, well done.