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Black Cake

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Black Cake

Written by: Charmaine Wilkerson
Narrated by: Lynnette Freeman, Simone McIntyre
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Brought to you by Penguin.

Crossing continents and juggling lives, Black Cake is a powerful story of love and loss, kinship and separation, heartache and hope, spanning 60 years in the life of one family.

Eleanor Bennett won't let her own death get in the way of the truth. So when her estranged children - Byron and Benny - reunite for her funeral in California, they discover a puzzling inheritance.

First, a voice recording in which everything Byron and Benny ever knew about their family is upended. Their mother narrates a tumultuous story about a headstrong young woman who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder, a story that cuts right to the heart of the rift that's separated Byron and Benny.

Second, a traditional Caribbean black cake made from a family recipe with a long history that Eleanor hopes will heal the wounds of the past.

Can Byron and Benny fulfil their mother's final request to 'share the black cake when the time is right'? Will Eleanor's revelations bring them back together or leave them feeling more lost than ever?

©2022 Charmaine Wilkerson (P)2022 Penguin Audio African American Death & Grief Genre Fiction Historical Relationships Self-Help World Literature
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Critic Reviews

"I was instantly taken in by this multi-generational tale of identity, family, and the lifelong push and pull of home. This novel has a tremendous heart at its centre, and I felt its beat on every page. What an extraordinary debut." (Mary Beth Keane, author of Ask Again, Yes)
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I enjoyed Black Cake. For one, it was nice to learn about the history of the Caribbean - both socia-culturally and culinarily.

The book’s mystery is well written - although easy to guess a few hours into the novel. The book is also very inclusive and representative of the experiences of black and coloured people in the UK and USA.

I was happy that the book showed black/brown empowerment. However, the author tried to talk about too many racial issues and colonial issues and the sheer busy-ness of the script made the novel tiresome.

It would have been better, had the author selected a few themes to focus on and kept the novel crisper.

The narrator has done a good job and offers a Caribbean-style accent (not sure if it is authentic or not). But it added to the appeal of the book.

Feel good story, but too busy

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loved this multi generational storyline with very strong characters. the love a loyalty of the relationships depicted here is heart warming. great pace and writing. gorgeous narration

fabulous context and story

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