Black Cake (Review)

“You were never just you, and you owed it to the people you cared about to remember that. Because the people you loved were part of your identity, too. Perhaps the biggest part.”

― Charmaine Wilkerson, Black Cake

The vibe

Book / Bakeware / Measuring cups / Kitchen tools / Mixing bowls / Recipe box

This book is SO much more than the black cake, but the constant theme made me think about the importance of food and recipes to family and culture.

The review

Benny and Byron grew up with a comfortable life in California and two loving parents. Following the death of their father a few years back, the estranged siblings are brought together for another loss — their mother, Eleanor.

But Eleanor left her children more than an inheritance. In an audio recording, she tells the story of a young Caribbean girl named Covey and the tumultuous journey she endured for her freedom.

As they listen to the recording, Byron and Benny heal the wounds of their broken relationship and learn the vast amount of secrets their parents kept hidden for decades.

I knew this book was going to be good — and it absolutely did not disappoint me in any way. The author previously published a collection of short stories, and this novel felt very much like connected short stories. The small chapters flew by and I really enjoyed the audiobook narrators, Lynnette R. Freeman and Simone Mcintyre.

Ultimately, this is a historical fiction read that doesn’t *feel* like a historical fiction. This is in part due to the fact that there’s a modern timeline and the historical fiction part of it isn’t that old and is fast moving.

I got so into this story, and I hope you do too!

Read if… you loved The Vanishing Half and Everything Inside (short stories)