“I hope that you won't be afraid to make the same kind of choice again, if you feel that this is what you need to do to survive. Question yourself, yes, but don't doubt yourself. There's a difference.”

Siblings Benny and Byron have been estranged for years but with the death of their mother, they reunited to fulfill their mother's last wishes. Loved being transported between the past and the present. Thank you so much to the publisher for granting my wish with this eARC!

A beautiful story about tradition, mixed races, family secrets, ...and cake 🤤

The layers and depth of Charmaine Wilkerson's writing in this debut novel is unmatched.

Sharing how the characters were mixed race and their struggles in dealing with racism resonated with something in me.

My grandmother was Puerto Rican and my grandfather was American. They lived in the States and growing up, my dad was either "not white enough" or "not black enough." He never learned to speak Spanish (my grandfather's family forbade my grandmother teaching it to her kids 🙄) so he was clearly "not hispanic enough."

My mother also experienced racism growing up in the age of busing in the 1960's.

Because of their experiences, both of my parents raised my brother and me to always be open to racial and cultural differences and never judge someone by the color of their skin. Bless them for that.

BLACK CAKE dives so deep into the tradition of family recipes and how they are passed down throughout the generations, connecting those from the past, present, and future. Such a simplistic concept but deeply special.

BLACK CAKE is a must-read. It's a book that will stick with me forever.

This multi-generation family saga was exceptionally well-written. I thought it tackled complicated family dynamics quite well. It portrayed complex topics such as racism, sexism, homophobia, and sexual abuse in an honest and authentic way. The audiobook was fantastic and the narrator really brought the characters and story to life. If you are in the mood for well-written literary fiction with complex characters and an intriguing plot, this is perfect. I loved the short chapters as well. I thought this helped moved the plot along and kept me reading.

This book will easily be a top favorite of 2022. I only wished I read it sooner!

The author, Charmaine Wilkerson, is truly a talented author. So many important topics were covered in such a brilliant way… Black Cake is a novel of family and belonging, mystery and sacrifice, love, identity, hope, and freedom. I was completely blown away by the writing and impeccable storytelling. The fact that this is a debut makes it that much more amazing.

I loved the characters. However flawed they may be, they felt real and their stories felt real. I am really looking forward to reading more from this author!

I think this book would be a perfect choice for a book club discussion. I’d definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys family sagas or literary fiction.

Thank you so much to @randomhouse and #netgalley for my advanced e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

I've picked this up a couple of times and couldn't muster the oomph to finish until this time. While Wilkerson's writing is solid and left no holes by the time we hit the end, this one just didn't connect with me.

Such a beautiful story with a great message on controlling your own life. From beginning to end I was engaged and impressed with the character development.

Brilliant! Black Cake by debut novelist Charmaine Wilkerson touched my heart in so many ways! I laughed! I cried! I found myself speaking out loud to the characters….. Wilkerson has written a family drama steeped with family issues as well as social issues in the life of Eleanor Bennett and her family. Eleanor passed away and left an eight-hour recording with her lawyer for her son Byron and Benny to listen to together. She also left a Black Cake in the freezer for them to share at the appropriate time. Byron and Benny have not seen each other for seven years. There was a family squabble about Benny’s lifestyle and she did not come back after her father’s funeral. Benny has been very successful and Bunny has struggled on the opposite coast.

Eleanor takes us back to a Caribbean island where she was born. We learn about her beginnings on the island, the struggles she faced, and why she left. Lots of social issues are intertwined throughout. I have found a new “go-to” author! I did keep a chart of the characters and the time frame! I loved the audio which I used with an advanced e-copy. This is a definite recommendation for book clubs as there is so much to discuss. I know that I already want to read-listen to this story again.

This book was so beautiful. I love a work that includes inter generational stories and shifting perspectives.

This is such a beautiful book. It has everything. The culture, the friendships, the hurt, the loss, and the love make this a book that readers will think about and will never forget. I believe everyone can enjoy this book if they give it a chance. Will definitely recommend to people who love beautiful tales.

As children, we cannot conceive of our parents having lived before we were born, or having lives that don’t include us. B and B, as their mother called them, come to find out through a recording their mother left them upon her death, that their mother lived an incredible and dangerous life before becoming their mother. Benny and Byron, estranged for a good number of years, are forced to reckon with all they do not know about their family, and to decide how to live their own lives with the new found knowledge of their rich and complicated history. I especially appreciated the skillful way Wilkerson described the changing relationship between two siblings who are so fundamentally different from one another. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Random House/Ballantine for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson is a beautiful character driven book. Beyond that the prose is exquisitely chosen to enhance every action and scene. Excellent debut novel.

This was one of my favorites this year. A bit mystery, family secrets, and heavily character driven. I really loved how different this one felt from anything else i've read this year. Eleanor Bennett has died and has left her two children a recording of her life story explaining the secrets she's held onto for decades. We then go back and forth in perspectives from the current siblings to the past of Covey in the Carribean. This was a wonderful multi-generational story touching on many things: self-discovery, family, cultural challenges, and loss.

An incredibly unique and innovative portrait of a family throughout time and an exploration of only coming to know a parent after losing them. I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys a strong sense of place through storytelling and characters who exemplify complex but meaningful family relationships.

Now, this is a family saga!

The family matriarch, Eleanor Bennett, lived a life worthy of a thousand books. Unfortunately, her children do not know of such tales. Upon her death, she decides to tell.

From the first syllable of her recordings, as a reader, you never want her to stop.

This book's amazing from painting life on Eleanor's home island (I get the feeling the island reads Jamaica, but I really get a Trinidad and Tobago vibe.) to her adventures in the UK (Honestly, I don't want to say adventure because of so many devastating events occurring there.) to her life in California. I held my breath as I turned each page (I don't say that lightly) because, as you read each chapter, you get a taste of bittersweet merging with joy to worry to anger.

Better yet, every character wanders to find the boxes in which they fit, fighting against those boxes society, family, and friends believe they deserve. Life's incredibly murky. Sometimes, gray areas approach when you expect life to go black or white.

Furthermore, sacrifice, grief, and loss are major themes in this tale. It's not a sad story, by any means, because hope weaves itself with each lesson or mark. Those themes hold tight for dear life, even after setting the book aside to breathe.

The only critique I have is that the last third's a bit slow as the train comes to its ride's stop. But, that's okay. With the first tw0-thirds' dynamic start and middle, the ending still does not disappoint with an answer Eleanor always sought Mathilda and the end of several chapters with the promise of fresh and new ones for her children.

Finally, this story's a must-read. The writing's beautiful, devastating, and hopeful. No one's immune to the themes discussed.

Now, I have to go get myself some black cake. Hopefully, I can find a baker with stories to tell, many of which may weave themselves inside the mix.

Bonus: The chapters are short, so the book moves fast. I heard a movie/t.v. show adaptation's coming, and I welcome it with open arms.

4.5/5

“Black Cake,” by Charmaine Wilkerson (Ballantine) is a great debut novel featuring the story of Byron and Benny, estranged siblings who are faced with an unusual inheritance from their mother: a black cake, which is made from a family recipe, and a recorded message.
Eleanor Bennett’s tale releases long-held secrets that will turn the lives of Byron and Benny upside down as they work together to put the full story together.
I understand that this book was in development for a Hulu series. I don’t know if that still stands, but I’ll bet it would be good.

I’ll tell you this right off the bat: this book is well worth the hype.

I found myself thinking often of Fredrik Backman’s style while reading Black Cake. Wilkerson has an incredible eye for the human-ness of a person. The characters in the book are incredibly nuanced, flawed and messy, heartbreakingly human. They’re so honest to real life that it holds a mirror up to yourself and it can hurt but there’s a beauty to that as well.

My heart ached often reading this story. Eleanor Bennett is a woman of many stops and starts, many remakings, and you feel the flesh stripped away with each ending she faces. Benny is who I connected with most (we share enough similarities that it’s almost creepy) but every single voice is so fully-fleshed you feel as though you could meet them in real life.

The prose is gorgeous. Not a single word is wasted, every paragraph moves the story onward to the final page. That last reveal of who is behind *it* (when you read, you’ll know what I’m taking about) absolutely took my breath away. True chills down my spine! It was one of those experiences you live for as a reader.

I can’t recommend this book highly enough. It is a triumph and it’s mind-blowing that it’s a debut. It’ll be hard to top but if Wilkerson graces us with a sophomore novel I’ll be there to buy it on release day. You should read this book, then let a friend borrow your copy because it’s one that you won’t want to stop talking about.

This was an OK read for me. The plot was good but there were a lot of characters and at times I would get a little confused.

Excellent debut novel. Written in the characters' voices and in dual time lines, it is surprisingly easy to follow. She touches on some racial and environmental issues without being preachy or overbearing. Characters are interesting and story keeps you reading. Read on a rainy afternoon easily. I was provided an advanced reader copy at my request but was under no obligation to provide a review. The opinions expressed are my own. Thanks to the author, publisher & NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

I really liked the overall story of this book. But I found it hard to read sometimes because the story jumped all over the place. It was confusing. I thought the story was very original and I did enjoy learning more about the culture of the fictional Caribbean island. I love the whole concept of food and culture and the past living on through it. Thank you for the advance reader copy.

Family secrets are often kept from loved ones until the end of life or in the case of Elly Bennett, kept from her children estranged from each other, until after her death, told in her own voice in a recording to them. The story is told in dual time frames, recounting Elly’s past and in the present with Benny and Byron trying to understand their mother’s past and trying to find their own place . This is a wonderful story of family, imperfect at times in spite of their love . It’s about the power of tradition, but also of abandonment and loss, of dark things that in time are overshadowed by the light of friendship and love . A wonderful story of a mother’s wish that her children will find each other again with the help of the truth and eating a black cake. Not quite 5 stars because it was a little repetitious at times . I had a copy of this for a while now and I’m sorry that I didn’t read it sooner, but glad I did now.


I received a copy of this book from Ballantine through NetGalley. Apologies for the late review.