Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

123 reviews

just_one_more_paige's review against another edition

adventurous 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? No

4.0

 

Y'all this one was just everywhere and it was so popular and then Hulu decided to adapt it and honestly I was just curious and wanted to see what the fuss was about. 

 

Behind on reviews and feeling lazy today...so here's the blurb from Goodreads: "In present-day California, Eleanor Bennett’s death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a black cake, made from a family recipe with a long history, and a voice recording. In her message, Eleanor shares a tumultuous story about a headstrong young swimmer who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder. The heartbreaking tale Eleanor unfolds, the secrets she still holds back, and the mystery of a long-lost child challenge everything the siblings thought they knew about their lineage and themselves." 

 Alright, I can absolutely see why Hulu picked this up and turned around production so quickly - this book has all the elements of interest that keep viewers (and readers!) invested and on the edge of their seat. There was so much drama (family, community, historical, etc.) and secrets, and all of it was so intriguing (with lots of foreshadowing) and mysterious and communicated with well-paced and easy, compelling writing (helped in large part by the short chapters and lots of POVs sprinkled in).  

 

Wilkerson also did a great job making everything feel...genuine. With this amount of drama, things could easily have gotten to a point where they were unbelievable and there was no emotional connection to the characters and their experiences/relationships. Somehow, Wilkerson avoided that, walking the tightrope of "this is too wild to be true" and "this could totally happen" very smoothly. And there was a lot to balance, as the complications, miscommunications, secrets and misinterpretations in this family ran deeeeeeep. As those got revealed and detailed and resolved (or not, as it were), the amount of character development was reallllly good. Like, I was expecting this to be more plot, because of the book club/Hulu show situation, but *damn* even all the tiny side characters got full stories here! Hats off. 

 

Finally, Wilkerson managed to jam pack this book not just with plot and character development, but also with an impressive array of social commentary and contemporary cultural issues and "hot topics." Of these more intentional and deeper messages, earth conservation, racism (specifically the realities of life as a Black person in Europe/the US), and the diaspora/acculturation of food were at the forefront. There was also some really uplifting conversation about the traditions of a culture, and what a person/group is allowed or encouraged to pressure (be it jobs, sports, special interests, etc), and the leaders in pushing back against those norms. Similar to the number of secrets and storylines and characters Wilkerson balanced, I was impressed with how she was able to authentically include so many (seemingly) disparate issues. It all plays a part in the overall mastery in the writing of this novel: how well she portrayed complex lives/characters, in a way that mirrors how complex we are as real people, living real lives.   

 

Black Cake weaves together history and present day and the breadth of the diaspora from movement both involuntary (slavery and the search for safety) and voluntary, and mixes it with the intimacies of family drama in a way that shows how we are all a product of that complex and interwoven story of humanity, in ways known/expected and unknown/unexpected. Just so well done, in all ways. 

 

 

 “What if knowing the truth were to hurt more than the longing?” 

 

“Yeah, tradition has sometimes told us that only certain kinds of people should study certain subjects, or engage in certain sports, or play in an orchestra, or what have you, but tradition is about what people have or have not done; it's not about what they are capable of doing. And it's not about what they will be doing in the future.” 

 

“Question yourself, yes, but don’t doubt yourself. There’s a difference.” 

 

“…thinking of small but profound inheritances. Of how untold stories shape people’s lives, both when they are withheld and when they are revealed.” 

 

“…nothing was more beautiful than a girl who was fearless.” 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Death of parent, and Rape

Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Murder, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Pregnancy and Police brutality

mels_reading_log's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.0

This is the story of a Caribbean woman and her family. Her life was full of secrets and mysteries and her children knew nothing about it until her death. Her children come together with their mother’s lawyer to listen to a tape their mother made telling them her whole story from a child of the Caribbean to a mother in California and all of her adventures in between. This book started out a little slow for me, but by the end when all of the puzzle pieces clicked in place, I really enjoyed it.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Rape, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Death of parent, Racism, Murder, Grief, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

ohheyash's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I enjoyed reading Black Cake. I was a mystery, with love, and hardships. I was also glad that it ended with all my questions answered. If you’re looking for an engaging story; especially if you’re in a reading slump, I’d recommend reading this.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Addiction, Alcohol, Rape, Sexual assault, Cancer, Grief, and Suicide attempt

thebelovedreadingnook's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense 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? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Racism, Death of parent, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Mental illness, and Self harm

Minor: Terminal illness, Police brutality, and Outing

leeannt519's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, Addiction, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Racism, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexual assault

miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

This was really good and i came this close (👌) to crying, a look into family loyalty, history and relationships,
Sometimes felt like benny and byrons (if thats not how u spell them im sorry i listen to the audiobook) characters could at times have been a bit more developed but that was mainly cause i really liked to development of the others

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Rape, and Terminal illness

wisteriaearl's review against another edition

hopeful sad medium-paced

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

3.5

The premise was very promising and the book almost executed it perfectly. I think Covey's past is so interesting. But the problem is,  it's the most captivating part. So when the book switches back to Byron and Benny, it loses a lot of momentum. In the end, Benny is the more interesting sibling because Byron is bland and unlikeable in comparison. I wish we had more characterization with Byron beyond "wow he's kinda an asshole" and his Byron's thought processes are repetitive. The amount of times he laments,"Benny is not my little sister anymore" loses a lot of impact the 5th time it's mentioned. 

I think more scenes of the family being a family instead of vignettes of Benny and Byron having children. I never felt attached to the relationship Benny and Byron had because it felt so distant. Especially, comparing that relationship with Covey and Etta. It is the weaker dynamic. 

I appreciate how historically enriching the book was. That's a major strength of the book. The first 1/3 was strong but the book fell flat when it came out of the past. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Death of parent

Moderate: Sexual assault and Suicide attempt

beate251's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

This is a book about secrets and forgiveness.

I have first encountered this story as an eight part Disney+ series. Now that I finally got round to reading the book it's based on I can see why some people have problems with the narrative. It feels a lot more disjointed than the series, with a constant back and forth and introduction of seemingly random characters who turn out to be someone we didn't expect. You'll just have to accept that there's a big cast, and we're following them all.

The book deals with a lot of difficult topics (my content warnings are probably longer than my review!) and it sometimes feels like it's too many, even though some, like the rape, are barely mentioned. The TV show fleshes the time in Edinburgh out a lot more.

The writing is beautiful but I would really recommend the Disney+ series - it makes the book a lot easier to read.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, Classism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Biphobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Grief, Abandonment, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Death of parent, and Homophobia

Minor: Rape, Alcoholism, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Medical content, and Cancer

kyriannaj's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Death of parent, and Hate crime

Moderate: Classism, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Addiction, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Mental illness, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Suicide

Minor: Cancer

reddeddy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Toxic relationship, Biphobia, Sexism, Racism, Abandonment, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Alcoholism, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Stalking, Alcohol, Bullying, Classism, Death, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, and Violence

Minor: Hate crime, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Slavery, Blood, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Deportation, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Xenophobia