Shelf Life: Charmaine Wilkerson

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Welcome to Shelf Life, ELLE.com’s books column, in which authors share their most memorable reads. Whether you’re on the hunt for a book to console you, move you profoundly, or make you laugh, consider a recommendation from the writers in our series, who, like you (since you’re here), love books. Perhaps one of their favorite titles will become one of yours, too.

Former broadcast journalist Charmaine Wilkerson’s NYT-bestselling multigenerational debut novel, Black Cake, was adapted by Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films and creator Marissa Jo Cerar (The Handmaid’s Tale) for Hulu (Wilkerson served as an executive producer). The book was a Read with Jenna Book Club pick, as well as a favorite of President Barack Obama. (A Caribbean rum-soaked fruitcake, black cake has been called plum pudding, rum cake, rum pudding, and Christmas cake. Wilkerson’s late mother’s legendary recipe inspired the one that appears in the paperback edition of Black Cake.) Now comes the author’s highly anticipated follow-up, Good Dirt.

Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson

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Credit: Ballantine

The New York-born Wilkerson, who has also lived in Rome, Los Angeles, and Jamaica, attended Barnard College at 16 and, later, Stanford University; has written award-winning flash fiction; worked with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations while writing her first novel; has discussed her book with Daisy Jones and the Six author Taylor Jenkins Reid; and is a proud morning person.

Meaningful to her: A flannel work shirt that belonged to her late textile artist father; the sea.

Fan of: Wade In the Water, a documentary by David Mesfin; soursop fruit; Renaissance frescoes; Centro Studi Americani in Rome and The British Institute of Florence; midnight bike rides; banana fritters; nicknames.

Not so much: Social media. Peruse her book recs below.

The book that:

…kept me up way too late:

All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whittaker. Part thriller, part family drama, part celebration of kindness in different forms.

…I recommend over and over again:

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. This novel is funny, moving, and exciting in its shape-shifting approach to storytelling.

…shaped my worldview:

Beloved by Toni Morrison. This moving American story, with ancient Greek-style dramatics and thoroughly innovative language, intrigued me and amplified my vision of contemporary storytelling and how it could help us to live in the world.

…currently sits on my nightstand:

The Bridge on the Drina by Ivo Andric. This Serbian novel, a modern classic translated into English, was gifted to me by a friend and soon after recommended by another.

…made me laugh out loud:

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. The novel tells the story of a crushingly difficult childhood in the Appalachia mountains but delivers it in the bitingly funny voice of the protagonist as he comes of age.

…I last bought:

The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich. This author is always on my TBR list.

…has the best title:

Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby. A hint of the irreverent humor within.

…has the best opening line:

Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler. It begins, “Once upon a time, there was a woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong person.”

…broke my heart:

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. I was struck by this magical tale of twins growing up in Kerala amid familial and political turmoil—and by the beauty of the prose.

…has a sex scene that will make you blush:

The Rich People Have Gone Away by Regina Porter. There it is, right in the opening scene. But there is more to this book, as it follows the protagonist; his pregnant, bassoon-playing wife; and a diverse collection of New Yorkers at the dawn of the coronavirus pandemic.

…is a master class on dialogue:

Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez. Brimming with witty, energetic, and meaningful dialogue.

…describes a house I’d want to live in or a place I’d want to visit:

The house in North Woods by Daniel Mason, during the successful apple orchard years. Before the mountain lion moves in.

…should be on every college syllabus:

Black AF History by columnist Michael Harriot. His nonfiction book takes on conventional historical narratives, contrasting them with lesser-known stories of Black Americans. It’s a reminder to consider the source when reading about the past. Very funny, too, by the way.

…everyone should read:

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. This dystopian classic about book burning feels more relevant than ever.

…fills me with hope:

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. This post-apocalyptic novel follows a nomadic caravan of theatrical performers searching for safety and lost loved ones in the years following a devastating pandemic (not that pandemic). It is an ode to human connection, loyalty, and the restorative power of art.

…I’d want signed by the author:

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson. Actually, I’d want this book signed by the main character, Alan Karlsson.

Bonus question: If I could live in any library or bookstore in the world, it would be:

The public library in Branford, Connecticut, on Main Street. It is housed in a Greek Ionic building in the historic center, not far from the Long Island Sound and a memorable view of the Thimble Islands. When I lived in that neighborhood, there was a resident cat.

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