Estranged siblings receive a powerful message after their mother’s death revealing a secret. As they try to decide what to do with the information, they must also try to find a way back to one another. Debut author Charmaine Wilkerson uses lush descriptions in a book with a slightly wobbly plot in her first novel Black Cake.

Byron Bennett is devastated by the death of his mother, Eleanor. She was everything to him, including the embodiment of the American dream. Byron grew up hearing stories of how his mother and father started life in the West Indies, and even though being a Black man in America has its challenges he’s still grateful for the life his parents built.

As an ocean scientist and a social media star, Byron spends his days doing research and teaching various communities about the impact of climate change. His love life may not be smooth sailing right now, but professionally Byron knows he’s just starting to ride bigger waves. Like his mom who taught him how to surf and submit to the ocean’s will.

It was hard enough when his dad died. Now his mom is gone too, and Byron feels all alone. He’s really not, he knows; he has his sister, Benny. But Benny left the family after a major disagreement. She didn’t even attend their father’s funeral, never mind that when they were kids she and Byron were as inseparable as twins. If he’s going to survive losing his mother, Byron can’t count on anyone else.

Except his mother won’t let him grieve by himself. Eleanor’s lawyer tells Byron that Eleanor left explicit instructions for her children to listen to a series of recordings of Eleanor sharing those parts of her life that she’s never discussed. Per her last will and testament Byron and Benny have to listen to the recordings and make some decisions, including when to share the last black cake she made for them.

Benny comes home for the reading of her mother’s will in the midst of grief. She’s missed her family since the first hour after she left home, and for eight years she’s wanted to come back. But she couldn’t; not after what was said on that day. She’s always looked up to her big brother and assumed he would come after her and appease her like when they were kids, but Byron has let all this time go by without saying a word.

Forced together by their mother’s literal and figurative will, the siblings receive the biggest shock of their lives: they have another sister somewhere out in the world. More than that, their mother is not who she said she was. Even though she left the West Indies behind decades earlier, it’s still haunted her every day.

As Byron and Benny listen to the recordings and learn the truth about their mother’s past, they have to decide what to do about their own mistakes. They’ll also have to decide whether they forgive each other and themselves for the mistakes and misunderstandings they’ve let fester.

Author Charmaine Wilkerson’s debut shines in its descriptions. As the story moves back in time to Eleanor’s childhood on a Caribbean island, Wilkerson provides details that will take readers there. Her experiences living in Jamaica herself do a great service to the setting, making the island sections some of the best portions of the novel.

By contrast, other parts of the book aren’t as solid. Eleanor moves from the Caribbean to England and then to the U.S. The amount of time spent in England on the page doesn’t feel long, although it’s one of the most crucial periods in Eleanor’s life. Yet the uneven plotting of the story will leave readers not feeling the impact as much as Eleanor does.

Also, while black cake does make several appearances in the novel, it’s not important enough to warrant naming the book after it. The story jumps from one time frame to another, one character to another, which might leave readers wondering where they should spend their emotional currency. In giving so many different aspects of Eleanor and Benny and Byron’s lives so much importance, all of the events lose a little of it.

The book does offer a unique perspective on Caribbean immigrants and their experiences in moving from one place to another for a better life. Readers especially interested in books with these themes will want to check this out.

Hmmm. I think I liked this book. But, I also didn’t enjoy it as much as I would have wanted to. I enjoyed learning about the culture, the food and the environment of their island life. I was interested in the storyline and curious to know what was going to happen next in the book, however this is a book that would have probably worked better for me if I had taken notes while reading. There is a lot covered in Black Cake. There were a lot of characters, a lot of back and forth and a lot of topics covered. Unfortunately, it was almost too much for me. I do believe this would make a great book club pick… there is quite a bit to discuss!

As rich as a black cake, the characters is what stands out to me in this beautiful debut novel. I loved the Caribbean culture and flavor and the pace of the book as it traversed characters and settings and years. Lovely and relatable and full of emotion where I thought about hard decisions and choices I’ve made and how they have and will affect my children when they’re old enough to understand. A great book club pick. So grateful to Ballantine for the advanced copy. This author is one I’ll watch - whatever she writes next - I’m first in line.

In this moving debut novel, two estranged siblings must set aside their differences to deal with their mother's death and her hidden past--a journey of discovery that takes them from the Caribbean to London to California and ends with her famous black cake.

What I loved about this story was that we got to know the characters in such a unique way. There was little of this story that was told as it was happening, most of the story was told through flashbacks or letters from Elenor. I loved that we were able to get to know Elenor even though she was dead before the story began. 
The writing was very literary- almost poetic. I thought it flowed beautifully. I was really intrigued by the main character's culture and the tradition of the black cake. I was really surprised this was a debut, it was so well written.

Thanks #NetGalley @RandomHouse for a complimentary eARC of #BlackCake upon my request. all opinions are my own.

On the occassion of their mother’s passing, Byron and Benny are left with their mother’s voice recording and specific instructions: they are to listen to it together in its entirety and in the presence of the family lawyer. In addition, they are to share the “black cake” (Caribbean rum soaked fruit cake) in the freezer when the time is right, and they’ll know when it is the right time. Byron and Benny were close as children and grew up in a loving home, but they have grown apart as adults. In fact, Benny hasn’t seen the family in twenty years. Can they overcome their bitterness and deal with the secrets their Mom shares about her history? Will a secret sibling add further complications to an already strained relationship?

Black Cake checked so many of my boxes for a memorable read! Complicated family dynamics + sibling relationships + a secret sister+ well drawn, likable characters + a pageturning plot + escape + reconciliation + compelling themes. An all around engaging read!

Families are interesting and complicated! My mom and aunt kept a secret for decades about a child in my family placed for adoption. I met this baby (my cousin) when we were both older adults. She is now an integral part of our family and we are close. The older generation keeps lots of secrets! I really connected with this part of the story line! Does your family have secrets?

Even though the story is told from multiple perspectives and jumps between present and past and from location to location, I was never confused. I feel like the story was revealed smoothly and I appreciate the various perspectives. I think the brother and sister relationship is well told and the rivalry and jealousy and misunderstandings are realistic and understandable. The author creates a strong sense of place (especially for the Caribbean passages) and vivid details and descriptions help you feel like you are there making the black cake and facing the threats.

Even though the mother has passed, the author reveals her story throughout the book in flashbacks and it feels like Eleanor Bennet is a main character. Eleanor is an incredibly strong person who reinvents herself multiple times in order to survive. I admire her courage, determination, and resourcefulness. Yes, you might question her decision to keep a big secret but we come to realize that she was doing the best she could at the time and was fearful that her secrets would destroy her beloved family.

Thoughtful themes include silbling relationships, parental secrets, traditional food, family dynamics, found family, unplanned pregnancy/adoption, rebuilding your life, resentment, regret, forgiveness, and reconcilliation.

I’m enthusiastically recommending Black Cake for fans of family drama and likable characters, for those looking for diverse reads, for readers who have spent time in the Carribean, and for bookclubs. Lots to discuss here! Some reviewers have felt that there is a lot going on in this story (and there is)…maybe too much….but I didn’t feel overwhelmed. I thought each issue fit with the story and was well developed….not simply thrown in to address hot topics.

***contains spoilers***
Content Consideration: reference to a sexual assault that results in pregnancy, workplace harassment

Estranged siblings Byron and Benny are forced to reconnect by the devastating loss of their mother. When they meet with their mother’s lawyer, they learn she’s left a strange inheritance for them: a black cake made from an old family recipe and an eight hour voice recording in which her surprising story unfurls.

This is an epic, winding, beautiful tale of a family ripped apart at the seams, trying to sew itself back together again. Each chapter is a short glimpse into the memories and experiences of different characters, coming together to paint a complex and mesmerizing story. I never wanted this book to end!

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy.

This book was just okay for me. This is not my typical genre.

What an amazing debut novel! I love multigenerational family stories. This is a good one, with a bit of mystery. It delves into issues such as race and sexuality as well, which adds depth to the story. I found myself increasingly invested as I got into this story-as I learned about the characters’ backstory and as we learned more details about the siblings and their family. So glad I read this. I’m looking forward to her future books!

Black Cake hooked me from the first paragraph. It intriguingly starts when Benny and Byron (B & B) meet for the first time in years to hear their mother’s last wishes. The mood is tense due in no small part to Benny’s estrangement from the family.

The chapters are short and crisp. Benny and Byron are the primary narrators of the story, but as the tale progresses, readers get the perspective of more and more characters who have somehow touched Benny and Byron’s lives. Author Charmaine Wilkerson makes her readers care about all the characters. These characters have endured varying degrees of hardship, and they have dealt with that hardship in different ways. As the characters learn of each other’s troubles, they are more able to accept the others’ behaviors and choices. There are strong messages of acceptance, understanding, and the enduring love of family and true friends in this engaging family drama.

4.5 stars

3.5 stars

I am grateful to Random House publishing group- Ballentine for sending me an advanced copy of this book for review.

Black Cake was an interesting read about family, home, and the displacement that immigrants feel when trying to start new lives in the countries they migrated to. This is a multi-perspective story that follows three main timelines. The characters are all intricately linked to one another, so we see how they drift in and out of each other's lives and how every step they have taken has had great consequences. This story is also about motherhood and connection . The author cleverly uses the traditional Caribbean food black cake to represent the connection between mothers and daughters and the importance of family within the Caribbean culture. She goes on to show that physical distance from your homeland and people does not diminish who you are and your ties to your culture.

I think the choice of the author to tell the story mostly through letters read to the children of a recently deceased mother was a good one. It allowed the book to maintain a very reflective feeling, and suspense within the plot. This is a story made up of memories. Recollections and flashbacks are woven together to present us with a canvas of the entire life of a family. We touch on many important issues, both on a personal level and in a larger societal context. Also having the family be multiracial means that we get to see how people who are intricately linked and have similar roots are able to navigate the world differently and have conflicting perspectives on themselves and those around them. I like how the author also emphasized the difference between the viewpoints of a West Indian and someone from the diaspora who has West Indian heritage but is not from the islands themselves. Even though, the author kept mentioning that people should use the term “Caribbeans” instead of West Indians in the book, and I hope that doesn't catch on ...because “Caribbeans” is not a thing. Nobody says that. Nobody wants that.

There was one issue that I had with the book, and it is a minor issue. That is with the central thread of the black cake that is woven throughout the entire story. While I understood how it was used and I actually liked the way that this story was told with references to food as a cultural fulcrum for characters’ lives, I have my doubts about whether or not the author has ever baked a black cake or simply chose not to describe the process very well. This is probably not going to be a problem for most people, but for me, every time a description of the actual baking process of the cake came up it completely threw me out of the story because I was so confused about what this author was talking about. The description of tamarind balls was just as bad. Another thing was that there were moments where the author attempted to write more lyrical prose which felt a bit forced. These moments felt shoehorned into the story and clunky. Also, I did find the story to be a bit long and drawn out. I feel like the author may have been trying to touch on too many plot points for this type of book and ended up with a story that felt very long and drawn out at times.

Overall, I liked the book. It is nice to see a Caribbean book that's getting this much attention, not be a book that is simply about trauma but rather a realistic look at the ups and downs of a person's life, as they try to navigate through the adversity that many immigrants experience. There was hope in this story, there was joy in this story, there was love in this story. I recommend this story to people who enjoy contemporary cultural stories and multigenerational family stories.

To put it simply, this book was a masterpiece. Touching on themes of struggle and sacrifice and family. I loved that the deeper I got into this book, the more secrets were unlocked.

Our story focuses on two fairly main characters, Byron and Benedetta (Benny) Bennett, the brother-sister pair who are forced to come together after not speaking to each other for eight years prior to the death of their mother.

They thought the incident that drove Benny to cut ties with her family was unbearable, that is until they learned about what their mother had to go through to get them where they are today. In her passing, her one wish was that the siblings listen to a recording she left behind for them and when the time was right, to share a black cake she made for them before she passed.

This was such an emotional ride; the grief of siblings losing their parent, the fear of uncovering so many truths while the person they are about is not able to answer any questions and the shock of everything that comes to the surface.

I loved the way this book was written in the third person so it was always clear who, was thinking what, when. I also thoroughly enjoyed how short the chapters were. It made it feel like I was flying through the book much faster than I was.

While this is a bit of a read (over 800 pages) it never felt like it. The story was constantly moving and switching perspectives while giving insight into what each character was thinking. The jumps from past to present were easy to follow and again, gave me just enough crumbs to keep me curious as to what was going to happen next.

Overall, this book was phenomenal. So well written, so gracefully arranged and so beautifully tragic. This book felt so real to me and I know that there are probably hundreds of stories like this in real life. Watching how our characters overcame challenges, pushed themselves to the limits and defied the obstacles stacked against them was inspirational.

I can’t say enough how much I loved this book and I am going to need everyone to read it right now. P.S: if anyone knows how to make black cake and wants to send me the recipe like I wouldn’t be mad…

Book Rating: 5/5

I just finished Black Cake tonight. It's a mother divulging of secrets from her youth on the islands to her aging life in California as told to her children through recordings after her death. Wilkerson's short chapters left me saying "one more chapter” again and again.

Black Cake is incredibly moving debut novel about friendship, forgiveness and resilience to keep going.

I loved the idea of this book. I liked the idea of the two siblings, Byron and Benny, finding out all about their mother’s secrets after her death. I was anticipating lots of scandal and while Eleanor’s story was fascinating, it quickly became a bit confusing. I liked how she left the recordings for her children along with the black cake, and I also loved the insight into a culture different to my own. I found the last portion of the book quite difficult to keep track of, between characters and everything else. An amazingly strong debut.

To find out that Black Cake was this author’s first novel was very surprising to me. The writing was so rich, talented, and sophisticated. There were several deep and introspective topics and metaphors layered throughout, causing me to stop and think about what I just read and what it could really mean. It was clear that the author performed extensive research and I appreciated reading about her inspiration. I love reading about families and the intricate relationships and troubles that lay within, and this book covered quite the myriad of them.

This debut novel is a story of a family and how their betrayals, secrets, memories, and even names, shaped their relationships and history.

This is not a quick and easy read, it is one to be read and savored slowly.

This multi-generational story covers a broad range of places, people and emotions. Family dynamics are at the forefront of the story with the overriding theme of love.

I am absolutely baffled that this is a debut book. Wow. This is by far one of the most powerful and moving books I have ever read. This is the story of a two estranged siblings. Their mother has died and they are learning all the past they never knew. The perspective, timeline, etc change. It's easy to follow though. The story is so beautiful but heart wrenching. There's violence, rape, estrangement, sexuality, and so much more to this story. It is a story of how the inheritance of betrayals, secrets, memories, and even names, can shape relationships and history. Truly beautiful. You will not regret reading it. I cried more than once. I laughed more than once. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC!

Thank you @randomhouse and @netgalley for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review!

"In this moving debut novel, two estranged siblings must set aside their differences to deal with their mother's death and her hidden past -- a journey of discovery that takes them from the Caribbean to London to California and ends with her famous black cake."

Thoughts:

This is a very well written debut novel. I loved the writing style, both thought provoking and beautiful. This novel captures the journey of a family, crossing several character perspectives, and interconnecting multiple timelines. Reflecting on several cultures, moments in history, and relationships with both betrayal and love. I really enjoyed how the stories were woven and how they neatly came together at the end of this novel. I will say my reading experience with Black Cake was really slow, but on consideration maybe that was the best way to digest the insight and discussions within the novel. I am so impressed that this is a debut, and I look forward to reading more by Charmaine Wilkerson in the future.

3.5 stars for the first part of the book, 2 stars for the rest. The book jumps around in multiple timelines, multiple points of view, and different parts. In the beginning this was interesting as the Bennett family is introduced and the history is told. Unfortunately, I felt that the book fell apart after part 4. There were just too many other characters and their stories were not nearly as interesting. While I guess you could argue they were important to the overall story I just didn't really care about them. Plus the chapters became choppy almost like the author also wanted to just finish writing. Byron Bennett, the son, was a truly unlikeable character and he didn't really seem to grow at all. The author also tried to tackle a lot of issues around race, family, and relationships. It was all just a bit too much in the end.

Black Cake is the story of siblings, Byron and Bennie, coming to grips with their mother, Eleanor’s, death and the secret that she wanted them to know via an eight hour recording they received after her death. She also left a frozen Black Cake in the freezer for them. The Black Cake is a cultural dessert that Eleanor learned from her mother and carried along with her her whole life. It was for special occasions.

The siblings have been estranged for several years but come together to listen to the recording. The story moves back and forth between the past and the present, revealing secrets that stun the siblings. The story takes on social issues of today such as racism, sexuality, and dysfunctional families. The characters are so real and easy to grow attached to.

I recommend this book and am now obsessed with the idea of making a Black Cake!

Thank you to Penguin Random House and Netgalley for an ARC of Black Cake.

Byron and Benny are estranged siblings reunited by the passing of their mother, Eleanor. She brings them together to reveal the hidden details of her life, and tells them over a recording. Byron and Benny soon learn that they didn't know their mother at all, and are shocked by her secret past. Eleanor urges them to share her last black cake together, which hides even more clues about her younger years and events that she kept hidden.

This book was wonderfully written, and I loved each following along with character's inspiring career paths, from oceanographer to food writer to champion swimmer. Also, the undertones of sustainability really spoke to me. Charmaine Wilkerson is a talented author, and I felt like I really got to know each character. There were many moments of suspense throughout the book, and I was anxious to learn more about Eleanor's past through her recordings. The flashbacks to the islands and England were very well done, and highlighted the racial tensions that she later describes in the author's note. The number of characters got confusing at times, but I appreciated Wilkerson's attention to detail in how she created distinct characters. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from Wilkerson!