Right now, Black Cake is my favorite book of the year.  Considering its only mid-March, that’s not saying much; except I’ve read 8 book so far this year so #1 of 8 carries some weight. Black Cake is also the best novel I’ve read in the last six months (#1 of 13) and the second-best book of all books from the last six months (#2 of 17).

Without revealing any spoilers, Black Cake is the story of a young woman, estranged from her family, reunited with her brother at her mother’s funeral and at the hearing of their mother’s oral will. In her statements, mom reveals a lot of her family history, with many surprises for her children. A story like many others; yet there are some things that set it apart from the standard fare.

The plot was good, the characters interesting, the dialogue well-written.  Overall, I enjoyed the book. But it was after I’d finished the book and thought a bit about it that I came to appreciate its excellence and it quickly rose to the top of my Favorites list.

Black cake is essentially a Caribbean fruit cake. Its ingredients include some Caribbean staples like sugar from sugar cane, allspice, nutmeg, and rum. However, it also includes items with European origin, like currants and port wine, and cinnamon from Asia. Some of these ingredients found their way to the Caribbean through immigration, slavery, and colonization.

Wilkerson’s story covers multiple continents and countries; multiple cultures, races, and generations; multiple timelines. Upon reflection, I realized the author had concocted her own Black Cake with her novel. And that is very skillful writing! Combining all these elements could have easily resulted in an unpalatable mush. But in Wilkerson’s hands, all these elements blended into an extraordinary dessert.

I’m not a fan of fruit cake, so it’s doubtful I would like to eat Black Cake, but I devoured the novel and recommend you taste it, as well.