The thread that weaves through the novel is the black cake. All Byron and Benny have now is each other… or so they think. However, upon hearing the story of their mother’s convoluted journey for the very first time, their prior-established identities begin to unravel and transform their parents were not the people they thought they were, but it’s too late to ask questions. While they each had their own trials and obstacles, they were relatively well-situated and understood their places in society. They were Southern Californian and the children of Caribbean immigrants who had lost their own parents. Both stories ask whether it’s possible to truly know another person and contemplate the risk we take when we show others our true selves.īyron and Benny had a sense of identity before Eleanor’s death. Eleanor reveals secrets, stories and parts of her life that she had never shared with her children, changing what they thought they knew about themselves, their lineage and their parents. Wilkerson explores how our relationship with our parents changes as we grow older as she also examines the impact of race, class, culture and trauma on the parent-child relationship. The novel is a deft exploration of the complex and nuanced relationship between parent and child.

I want you to sit down and share the cake when the time is right. The siblings are also given a note that reads, “B and B, there’s a small black cake in the freezer for you. In the year 2018, estranged siblings Byron and Benny are forced to reconcile when they learn of their mother Eleanor’s death and the eight-hour audio recording she has left them. Somewhere on an unidentified Caribbean island in 1965, a bride throws herself into the ocean after the mysterious death of her new husband, a gangster who is significantly older than her, and is never seen again in her village. Published in 2022, this is Wilkerson’s debut novel, marking her place as one of the up-and-coming authors of the near future. The novel is a multigenerational family saga that follows the lives of three generations of women.

The chapters shift between characters’ perspectives, giving readers a glimpse into the minds of each character as they cope with loss and a new reality. At the same time, Wilkerson employs strategic pacing with short, enticing chapters that make this novel a fast, vibrant read.

“Black Cake” by Charmaine Wilkerson is a complicated read that requires you to follow multiple threads and paths as the narrative travels between the 1960s and 2018.

Review of black cake