Charmaine Wilkerson
Books
Black Cake -- Charmaine Wilkerson - Hardcover
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY - Two estranged siblings delve into their mother's hidden past--and how it all connects to her traditional Caribbean black cake--in this immersive family saga, "a character-driven, multigenerational story that's meant to be savored" (Time). "Wilkerson transports you across the decades and around the globe accompanied by complex, wonderfully drawn characters."--Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Daisy Jones & The Six, and Malibu Rising In development as a Hulu original series produced by Marissa Jo Cerar, Oprah Winfrey (Harpo Films), and Kapital Entertainment We can't choose what we inherit. But can we choose who we become?
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. Can Byron and Benny reclaim their once-close relationship, piece together Eleanor's true history, and fulfill her final request to "share the black cake when the time is right"? Will their mother's revelations bring them back together or leave them feeling more lost than ever? Charmaine Wilkerson's debut novel is a story of how the inheritance of betrayals, secrets, memories, and even names can shape relationships and history. Deeply evocative and beautifully written, Black Cake is an extraordinary journey through the life of a family changed forever by the choices of its matriarch.
Author: Charmaine Wilkerson
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Published: 02/01/2022
Pages: 400
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.40lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.20w x 1.60d
ISBN: 9780593358337
Review Citation(s):
Library Journal Prepub Alert 09/01/2021 pg. 14
Publishers Weekly 12/13/2021
Booklist 01/01/2022 pg. 32
Library Journal 02/01/2022 pg. 66
Kirkus Reviews 02/15/2022
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. Can Byron and Benny reclaim their once-close relationship, piece together Eleanor's true history, and fulfill her final request to "share the black cake when the time is right"? Will their mother's revelations bring them back together or leave them feeling more lost than ever? Charmaine Wilkerson's debut novel is a story of how the inheritance of betrayals, secrets, memories, and even names can shape relationships and history. Deeply evocative and beautifully written, Black Cake is an extraordinary journey through the life of a family changed forever by the choices of its matriarch.
Author: Charmaine Wilkerson
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Published: 02/01/2022
Pages: 400
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.40lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.20w x 1.60d
ISBN: 9780593358337
Review Citation(s):
Library Journal Prepub Alert 09/01/2021 pg. 14
Publishers Weekly 12/13/2021
Booklist 01/01/2022 pg. 32
Library Journal 02/01/2022 pg. 66
Kirkus Reviews 02/15/2022
About the Author
Charmaine Wilkerson is an American writer who has lived in the Caribbean and is based in Italy. She is a former journalist and recovered marathon runner whose short stories have been published in the United States and the United Kingdom. She has won awards for her short fiction and for the indie novella How to Make a Window Snake and has participated in several residential writing programs including Hedgebrook, the Vermont Studio Center, and the Bread Loaf Conferences. Black Cake is her first novel.