It was an unusually slow Sunday, so I decided to make the most of it by hiding in my home library to get some reading done. I found myself settling in with this debut novel by Charmaine Wilkerson which had been on my TBR list for a few months now. A hundred pages in, I had no idea how the time flew by. The chapters are super short so you really breeze through. What can I say, this book pulled me in right from the get go and I couldn’t wait to see where this story would go.
Book Summary
Black Cake begins with two estranged siblings meeting with a lawyer for a reading of their mom’s will you recently passed away. They are told that their mom has left them with a recording – this recording, they soon find out is her narrating to them a piece of her past that remained hidden for all of their lives. The story from here takes a heartbreaking turn into the lives of their parents and people the siblings have never even heard of. Part mystery, part historical fiction, Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson is told from multiple POVs across different timelines.
My thoughts on Black Cake
I enjoyed reading Black Cake for the most part. The story line got me hooked from the very beginning and I loved that the book gives you a peek into the lives of people in a tiny Carribean town decades ago. But unfortunately, about three quarters into the book the story started to fizzle out for me. Certain reveals (I don’t want to give away any spoilers here!) seemed to come to very easily – unrealistically easily and slowly realized that I was starting to care less about what was going on and just wanted to see how it would end. There is a surprising twist in the end that I did not see coming, so I did enjoy that; but overall, I found myself skimming though the last 75-80 pages or so.
Even so, I do recommend picking up this book for its beautiful writing. Charmaine’s has a way with words and her language was very easy to read – I’ll definitely be picking up her next book! I also loved that I learnt so many things about Caribbean life and culture.
My rating: 3⭐️
Favorite Quotes from Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
“Question yourself, yes, but don’t doubt yourself. There’s a difference.”
― Charmaine Wilkerson, Black Cake
“The people who love us the most have the power to hurt us the most too.”
― Charmaine Wilkerson, Black Cake
“The biggest moments in our lives are often just that, a matter of seconds when something shifts and we react and everything changes.”
― Charmaine Wilkerson, Black Cake
“You can look at a person and truly have no idea what they are holding inside.”
― Charmaine Wilkerson, Black Cake