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Much like she did in Black Cake, Charmaine Wilkerson chooses a non-linear narrative to craft this uneven but ultimately satisfying novel. There are two concurrent threads running through this book. The very interesting contemporary story of Ebony Freeman who witnesses an horrific event at the tender age of just 10.

The other thread is the long history of the Freeman family going back to the days of bondage. The flaw here is that history is mostly represented through a story of a family heirloom, which is a stoneware jar that has been in the family over a century. The jar’s journey tends to drag the entire novel and accounts for all of this could-have-been-great novel’s lowest and slowest pages.

And as the two threads stand side by side, the contemporary narrative provides far more corpulence and propulsion. I’m rounding up to 3.5🌟because the prose was mostly page-turning. The ending was a little hokey, and teased for too long, making it really anticlimactic.

Charmaine Wilkerson is an obvious talent and I will continue to embrace all of her work. That being said, this one falls a little short of being a high recommendation. Thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for an advanced DRC. Book will drop January 28, 2025