Books and Brunch Book Club: ‘Black Cake’ by Charmaine Wilkerson

Saturday, April 19, 2025
11:30 am - 12:30 pm

About the Book

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.

About the author

Charmaine Wilkersonis an American writer who has lived in Jamaica and is now based in Italy. A graduate of Barnard College and Stanford University, she is a former journalist whose award-winning short stories have appeared in various magazines and anthologies. Black Cake is her first novel.

About the event

If you have any questions, please contact Valerie at vdavis@cc-pl.org

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Alexandria Branch