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Black Cake cover art

Black Cake

By: Charmaine Wilkerson
Narrated by: Lynnette Freeman, Simone McIntyre
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Summary

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

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)

What listeners say about Black Cake

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Black Cake? What recipe!

Everything is brilliant about this book. It is tight and taut. The characters are complex and layered… or to put it another way (!) I cared about everyone. The focus on women, women from a beginning different to mine, the island with its wild seas and inescapable community (that may destroy but may also save) but also like me was particularly good on women showing strength in vulnerability.
Nothing predictable.
New Worlds.
But also the old struggles of identity and love.

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5 people found this helpful

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outstanding!

there is so much to love about this book. one if the best reads. I liked the short chapters, the journey of each of the characters and learned a bit about Caribbean culture. a great read

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2 people found this helpful

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Family saga

Held my interest all the way through. Enjoyable. Well performed. A little hard to believe in some places.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Caribbean family tale

Excellent story with themes of loneliness and family connections and what is most important in life. Moves from the Caribbean to UK and California. Loved it

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Great book - even better tv series

Really enjoyed this book but it did cover a LOT of intertwined storylines. It was also crammed full of social issues. Some authors might have strung all this out over several books. At times I struggled to keep up with or understand why characters behaved in certain ways but that was remedied when I binge watched the tv series which was totally brilliant! Suddenly it all made complete sense and I “got it”, and found the whole saga to be very beautiful and moving. I do hope the story continues with Mabel….

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Great


Really enjoyed this.
The (few) British accents are diabolical, but over all this is a wonderful, emotional, narration of a good story.

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What a book

Rich in every detail. I was invested in each person's story, some more than others. Thoroughly enjoyed and reminded me of eating my mother's own black cake not so long ago. I will have to get her to teach me.

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Great story

I loved this book. I watched the series first, then found the book it's a great book kept in gripped all the way through routing for the main character to have a happy ending.

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  • Overall
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Well crafted

A really well- crafted story that is surprisingly easy to follow considering how it jumped around in time. I really enjoyed this.

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Captivating

Fantastic from start to finish. Highlights very similar stories I’ve heard over the years of the experiences from my parents generation in the Caribbean and life in the UK.

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