But there is also aching redemption here, and characters that you root for and marvel at.
These characters are flawed in many ways – stubborn, too proud, and when they are unable to connect its heart breaking. We learn about a wedding gone horribly wrong, women who endure abuse and move beyond their suffering through sheer force of will, the lengths that friends will go to for one another, and the ultimate power of parental love.
The story jumps around through multiple timelines, and with incredibly short chapters the format makes it easy to compulsively read this well-written story. Benny and Byron also have an opportunity to share truths about themselves that had previously been difficult to share. Their mother brings her children together after her death for a story far more epic than the one they assumed to be true. If Benny’s skin tone was a little lighter, that could be explained by any number of genetic mysteries appearing (after all, their parents told them they were orphans, who knows what relatives lurked in their past). Benny and Byron knew that their parents emigrated from the Caribbean and ended in California by way of Britain – but that’s where there understanding stopped. That set up sounds more like The Westing Game, but this book share far more DNA with Fried Green Tomatoes. But more than that, they both struggle together as they learn that so much of what they thought they understood about their family was a lie. Benny has been nominally estranged from her sibling and parents for the last 8ish years, and Byron struggles with both his grief and this reunion. After their mother dies, brother and sister come together to listen to her last message to them together. But that’s exactly what happens to Benny and Byron (B and B, as their mother refers to them) in this novel. That’s a random way to begin a review of this incredibly excellent novel – Black Cake is one of my top 10 of the year so far – and it’s also a little random to consider discovering a new family member. A grocer or some other caring profession – day care provider, or nurse – would also be in my family’s wheelhouse. Have you ever noticed how certain professions seem to run in families? If I were to look for a long-lost relative of mine, I would probably lay money that they’d turn out to be a teacher, most likely a special education teacher – especially if they’re from my dad’s side. CBR Bingo – Shadows (because of the shadowy life of their mother)
0 kommentar(er)
