BOEKBEDONNERD nr. 39 | Swart koek, ’n 10-jarige doodsengel, Russiese geheime, en die dorpsflerrie

Black Cake deur Charmaine Wilkerson

Dis moeilik om te glo dat dié boek ’n debuut is. Wilkerson se stem bewe nooit nie. Dis ’n storie oor donker familiegeheime en geurige kos. Die sentrale karakter is Coventina Brown Lyncook wat op ’n Karibiese eiland grootword. Haar ma leer haar in die see swem, branderry en swartkoek bak: ’n soort vrugtekoek wat eie is aan die eilande. Heeljaar laat hulle vrugte in rum en port week daarvoor.

“Mommy always laughed when she was making black cake. And there was always some point at which she would not be able to resist the pull of the music on the radio … Mummy raised a batter-covered spatula in the air and waved it to the beat, stepping toward Covey and then skipping back and grabbing Covey’s hand … She would pull Covey into a kind of shuffle, giving off a smell of granulated sugar and butter and hair pomade as the two of them spun into the dining room and towards the living room.”..

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