A review by kari_f
Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

challenging emotional mysterious 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

“The thing about identity. There’s your family history, there’s how you see yourself, and then there’s what others see in you. All these elements factor into your identity, like it or not.”

Black Cake is a book with (no pun intended) so many layers to it. Broken into short chapters from multiple perspectives, Wilkerson’s work touches on issues that include multi-faceted family drama, intergenerational trauma, racial prejudice, sexual orientation, identity, shame, resentment, acceptance, the breaking of trust, survival, and more. For a book that has such depth, though, it doesn’t feel as weighty as it could. I mean this in the best way! Sometimes books with this…MUCH leave the reader feeling bombarded or even depressed, but there was enough determination and hope throughout that it kept me engrossed without feeling too overwhelmed.
 
The book asks the question multiple times: what would you be willing to do to survive? I really felt for the characters and loved getting to know them more as secrets were revealed and we find out the lengths they would go to in order to survive. 

As their family history is unraveled, we also see the traits that bind the characters together.  I really enjoyed the cultural aspects of food throughout the book: both the traditions carried on generationally and the culinary diaspora that links people through time and culture.

I’m pretty amazed that this was a debut novel, and I will definitely be on the lookout for Wilkerson’s next book! I’d recommend this for a book club or buddy read, as there is a lot to unpack and discuss!

Thanks again to NetGalley and Random House for this advanced readers copy!
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