Black Cake Audiobook By Charmaine Wilkerson cover art

Black Cake

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Black Cake

By: Charmaine Wilkerson
Narrated by: Lynnette Freeman, Simone McIntyre
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About this listen

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 Family Life Genre Fiction Historical Fiction 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 couldn’t put this book down, there was so much depth to the characters, a rich history and tapestry of their lives. I enjoyed how each character grew and was shaped by the unfolding of the ancestors right to future generations.

Amazing storyline

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This was such an engaging story with so many layers. As a person from the Caribbean I fully understand the dynamics that played out in the different phases of the book and the lives of the characters. Often times secrets are kept to the grave, long lost siblings are often revealed at funerals or wake. The diaspora traversing to another country to for seek a better life or simply running away from the ghost of our past. Its a love story, a story of resilience and forgiveness, hope ant new beginnings. I liked the fact that the author tied in all the pieces and the reader was able to know what happened to all the characters mentioned dead or alive. The mention of the black cake, mmmmm, I can smell the spices and the rum (port) this tradition (baking of the black cake, especially around Christmas ) remains with most Caribbean native as it is a tasty treat that connects us to the past and blends the present in an efficacious way.

LOVED IT!!!!

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Beautifully written and narrated. I loved learning about the cultures and felt the warmth, colors, smells and tastes of the Caribbean. Whenever a book moves me to tears, It deserves five stars. The women characters in this book kick ass. I am definitely cooking a black cake soon.

Beautiful book

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I like that the story leaves no stone unturned. It’s a bit long but enjoyable book. Definitely has a hook. I had one main issue with the story. It was being told more than it was happening, this was strange for me. I didn’t enjoy that dynamic about the way it was written. I wanted to experience the characters more personally and the story telling got in the middle of that for me.

Good book

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Not what I expected, I could not stop listening. Enjoyed it as I was able as a West Indian to associate with a lot of the content.

Held my attention

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I enjoyed this story and the storytelling very much. Although I’m from the Dutch Caribbean and thus have a different history and heritage, I could relate very well to the recreation of the Caribbean essence, and yes, especially to the black cake. You cannot make a black cake without a story about the past, without creating one in the present, and without some expectation for the future. That’s why the black cake is so significant as a wedding cake, as it does combine all the different tastes and cultures that comprise the Caribbean.

Marvelous story, a must-read.

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