This turned out to be one of those books that made me forget about the plenty of other books I have lying around yet to be read: it arrived, curiously I opened it on the first page, and next thing I knew, I’d read 70 odd pages. I was hooked from the beginning and loved it.
And I don’t care if this makes me appear shallow, but I also loved the cover art, with the optical illusion of the almost-3d spoon.
Black Cake is a family drama slash family mystery.
It starts with estranged brother and sister Byron and Benny meeting again for the first time in years. It’s a forced reunion, brought on by the death of their mother, Eleanor.
Eleanor has left them two things: a Caribbean black cake, and a recording of her life story.
As the story unravels, it turns out that their mother’s life was not quite what they thought it was.
Not only are the siblings grieving the loss of their last parent, but they are struggling with each other’s company and have to deal with the resentment and confusion that simmers underneath the surface.
It’s difficult to divulge further without giving away spoilers, so all I’ll say is that the story involves island life, swimming, murder, and perseverance. Also in the mix are colonialism, being different, and outsiders. Add love, and loyalty. Dust with a sprinkling of identity, finding yourself and staying true to yourself. Serve with acceptance and forgiveness.
There is a lot of story and there are a lot of characters to keep track of, but it’s never too much. It’s well written, and the chapters are (at times very) short and that makes it easy to forget about the real world, and just keep reading. One more chapter, one more, one more. If you can afford to lose time like that, I strongly recommend diving into this story.
Note the 1st : no apology for the abundant use of puns should be expected.
Note the 2nd: I do want to acknowledge that the book was turned into a series (streaming on Disney+ in the NL; check for your own location if not here) which seems to have good reviews. I cannot confirm nor deny that as the book was just too good for me to get into the series.
Bookworm in the City 