Black Cake

In the Author’s Note, Charmaine Wilkerson says, “Not everyone sits down to write a novel but everyone is a storyteller, in one form or another.” In what ways is novel not about cultural identity or families or love or motherhood, but rather about the power and energy of storytelling itself?

Research the history of black cake and its controversial importance in Caribbean culture. When characters object to calling a cake Caribbean because its ingredients reflect far more than Caribbean cuisine, do they have a point? Define and then apply Marble’s concept of a food diaspora as a way to develop sensitivity to diversity.

Make the case for either Bunny (Ella Pringle) or Marble Martin as being a seemingly minor character with easy-to-overlook thematic importance. How does this apparently minor character give voice to the novel’s major themes?