Reviews with content warning for Rape - Black Cake

“I have lived long enough to see that my life has been determined, not only by the meanness of others, but also by the kindness of others, and their willingness to listen.”

Estranged siblings, Benny and Byron, are brought back together by the death of their mother and the mysterious recording she’s left them. In it, she shares her untold story and offers one last traditional black cake for the siblings to share “when the time is right”.

This saga is painful yet delightful as it examines the trauma one family endures across generations. In some ways it felt like a collection of short stories, with different layers added oh slow slowly throughout the whole novel. I absolutely loved how Wilkerson let the the reader in only a little bit at a time.

Black Cake is an ode to the Caribbean, food, swimming, love, loss, and familial ties. I really enjoyed it.

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milliemillz's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

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jasminechocklettslee's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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amgarrido's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

Delectable; appeals to every sense.

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jaduhluhdabooks's review

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challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A powerful story about family, loss, and the constant but inescapable linger of grief. It’s about how stories shape and reshape who we are and how we choose to become who we are. It’s about the reality of being children of immigrants, harboring the challenges of biracialism and Black excellence wrapped in the pressures of parental expectation and societal binaries. Journeying with Byron and Benny was sobering and humbling. Mathilda, Pearl, Bunny, Gibbs, Lin, Mathilda, and so many others shaped Covey’s life and so many of the choices that she made to protect her and her family.

Trivial and beautiful.

I am huge supporter and believer in the power of story and narrative. There is so much life given to words when the speaker is someone who has experienced and lived the realities of what is being revealed. This book reminded of just how powerful narrative is and how much of normative society seeks to control so much of the Black and Indigenous voice. From food to culture, Charmaine take us on a journey of discovering secrecy, loyalty, and all in all, survival - as we travel in grief, longing, and deep deep love with the Bennet family. This is a story about roots and how Black and cultural tradition is a anticolonial stand a against whiteness, intrusive, primitive men who came to take and destroy and reinvent. But the Black Cake stands and withstands generations and time and it is a powerful metaphor of persperverance and family. Many layers to unpack in this read, but I’m honored to have sat in it for some time.

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elizaob's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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kshertz's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

What a windy twisty story of ancestory. I really enjoyed learning all about cubby and bunny and gibs. It was heartbreaking when she had to marry little man. I enjoyed the mystery and putting it all together. I did get tired of all the nicknames and changing of names but it kept me reading nonetheless.

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alex_johnson_2021's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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