Hardcover, 400 pages
Published Feb. 1, 2022 by Ballantine Books.
Eleanor Bennett won't let her own death get in the way of the truth. When her estranged children - Byron and Benny - reunite for her funeral, they discover a puzzling inheritance. First, a voice recording in which everything they ever knew about their family is upended. Their mother tells a tumultuous story about a headstrong young woman who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder. Second, a traditional Caribbean black cake made from a longstanding family recipe, 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 at the right time? Or will Eleanor's revelations leave them feeling more lost than ever?
Great story. The flashbacks are a bit jarring, but okay.
I had a problem with the style; it kept pulling me out of the emotional journey. Something like it was dramatic in the wrong places, when the narrative held enough drama itself. (That's a horrible way to put it....you know when the music is wrong for a movie scene and pulls you out of the immersion? Something like that.)
I really enjoyed how thoroughly Eleanor's story is told. People changing names to protect themselves and feeling like they've lost themselves, even more so when the only person who knows the real them passes away. The amount of depth that went into explaining how she got to the point of being Benny and Byron's mother and the child that she had to give up right after giving birth. I was rooting for her through the book.
I felt like the parts with Benny and Byron were not bad, per se, but you didn't get the same feel for their stories or lives because their stories had to be tucked between the main story. You understand what's been going on and where they're at, but it all just felt a little rushed and made them come off as a little immature for me. That's why I'm only giving it 4 stars.
