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I’m not sure why this author chose to take an already-complex core narrative and continually add more characters, add more personal issues, add more perspectives �� especially because the text was rife with reminders and summaries, as if she didn’t trust the reader to remember. (Which, fair, I guess �� pretty sure we met a new character in the second-to-last chapter.) The end result was a super uneven resolution, with “mysteries�� solved that were dropped in the first chapter, and a number of storylines that asked us to forget character development in order to appreciate the tidy bow. This book over-promised and under-delivered, while spoon-feeding social awareness and littering in late reveals that only served to make a convoluted reading experience.

Spoilers, aka notes for myself for book club:
- there’s so much about race and heritage, yet no acknowledgement of Chinese ancestry, which is central to Mr. Lin’s (initial) story
- why weren’t any personal scenes about Marble’s adoption shared? These theoretically crucial moments were only referenced, and nothing about being part of a Black family beside her childhood hunch!
- the one obvious relationship between black cake and geographical heritage just isn’t discussed with a food writer who specializes in exactly that
- B&B never really have a conversation - that we’re privy to, anyhow - to clear the air or renew their relationship
- the hardship of Bennie’s time away from the family is all sort of antithetical to her mother’s revealed narrative - like, amends could have been made from what we’ve been told by the characters!
- this whole book uses lurking as a love language �� it’s not showing care! It’s showing stubbornness!
- oh good lord the whole thing with the pregnant gf and then naming the kid after B (I have already forgotten his name) - get out of town! He has anger issues surfing won’t cure!
- I don’t know if this author understands the concept of virality online, which I only say because it comes up A LOT