February 2022

BLACK CAKE by Charmaine Wilkerson is a brilliant and moving debut written in a completely compelling style. It opens in California where Eleanor Bennett’s death leaves her two children, Byron and Benny, with a very nontraditional inheritance. She has left them two things --- a traditional Caribbean black cake, one made with a family recipe, and an eight-hour voice recording that they are to listen to together with her lawyer present. They are not to share the cake until they have listened to the whole story. As the recording is played, they learn that their mother’s life is not what they have long believed --- and many family secrets are revealed. Her narrated stories will take them from California to the Caribbean and London.

The storytelling comes from multiple points of view and different timelines with many short chapters that move the story along quickly. It’s one of the more imaginative and ambitious books that I have read in a while. I loved that the storytelling was seamless, though it was taking me to so many places. It also tackles a number of timely topics in a really deft way. It’s the kind of book that I will press into people’s hands and say “just read it” with not much preamble.

While they read, I will think about baking a black cake. When we first presented this book at one of our “Bookaccino Live” programs, the race to find a black cake recipe was on. Fortunately, Random House has included one in their book club kit. But don’t bake until you have read the whole book! Do note that the recipe includes “5–6 cups fruits, soaked at least 4 months (raisins, prunes, soaked fruits, currants, dates soaked in white rum or dark rum and port).” So get started on that part now so you can be ready to bake it for a book group discussion!