LoveReading Says
Taking in generations of troubled lives, reinvented identities and family connections across the Caribbean diaspora, Charmaine Wilkerson’s Black Cake is a stirring triumph with an unforgettable matriarch, and love, at its heart.
When she dies in California, Eleanor Bennett's children are forced to face a succession of long-buried secrets about their mother’s life - and to confront their own estrangement - when she leaves them her Caribbean black cake and a recording in which she tells the story of a young female swimmer who fled her Caribbean island in the aftermath of a murder. In her message, Eleanor instructs Byron and Benny to “share the black cake when the time is right”.
The novel unravels the siblings’ journey towards this “right time” through a masterful switching between the swimmer’s story and their present-day struggles with personal hurt, and the revelations of their mother’s recording. Spanning sixty years, the novel’s scope is immense, with nuanced detail on island life, the racism encountered by Caribbean commonwealth citizens in 1960s England (and by Byron in the present-day), and women’s struggles (“Why do we women let shame get in the way of our well-being?”).
Like the cake of its title, this is a richly flavoursome read. At once intense and subtle, it’s a story to savour and return to, when the time is right.
Joanne Owen
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Black Cake Synopsis
Everyone wants to discover what they're made of . . . Juggling lives and crossing continents, BLACK CAKE is the extraordinary story of how the inheritance of secrets, betrayal and memories can shape a family for generations
'We can't go to the island, Bryon. We don't really know what we're getting into . . .'
Eleanor Bennett won't let her own death get in the way of the truth. So when her estranged children - Byron and Benny - reunite for her funeral in California, they discover a puzzling inheritance.
First, a voice recording in which everything Byron and Benny ever knew about their family is upended. Their mother narrates a tumultuous story about a headstrong young woman who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder, a story which cuts right to the heart of the rift that's separated Byron and Benny.
Second, a traditional Caribbean black cake made from a family recipe with a long history that Eleanor hopes will heal the wounds of the past. Can Byron and Benny fulfil their mother's final request to 'share the black cake when the time is right'?
Will Eleanor's revelations bring them back together or leave them feeling more lost than ever?
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781405950084 |
| Publication date: |
16th February 2023 |
| Author: |
Charmaine Wilkerson |
| Publisher: |
Penguin Books Ltd |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
425 pages |
| Primary Genre |
General Fiction
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| Other Genres: |
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| Recommendations: |
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Charmaine Wilkerson Press Reviews
'Black Cake is a beautiful, deeply resonant story of children trying to understand the mother they have lost. Charmaine Wilkerson transports you across the decades and the globe accompanied by complex, wonderfully drawn characters. She has managed to tell a story that is as meaningful as it is delicious. At turns delightfully juicy and then stunningly wise, Black Cake is a winner' Taylor Jenkins Reid, Sunday Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones and The Six
'I was instantly taken in by this multi-generational tale of identity, family, and the lifelong push and pull of home. This novel has a tremendous heart at its centre, and I felt its beat on every page. What an extraordinary debut' Mary Beth Keane, bestselling author of Ask Again, Yes
'So beautifully written I'm struggling to believe it's a debut. The cake is the glue that holds all the layers together and the scenes are so well drawn I could almost taste the cake, feel the warm sea on my skin. My heart broke and was put back together. Bravo' Nikki May, author of Wahala
'A multi-generational debut generating hype' Grazia
'An extremely assured debut which pulls in threads and echoes from across the Caribbean diaspora to deliver a rich, complex and really satisfying novel' Alison Finch, BBC Radio 4
'BLACK CAKE has all the ingredients of the tastiest stories: secrets, romance, danger, and a cast of characters so real you want to scream at them one moment and hug them the next. I felt nearly breathless while reading Eleanor's truth - as if I were right there in the room with Byron and Benny, wholly immersed in their mother's tragedies and triumphs' Dawnie Walton, author of The Final Revival of Opal and Nev
'A stunning page-turner, with characters that felt real and relatable. I can't recommend this book highly enough. An incredible debut' Louise Hare, author of This Lovely City
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