The end of the year brings a host of feasts and celebrations and with them the most complex of all relationships: family. From long held secrets to contentious siblings to parental ties, our selection of past Folger Book Club picks offers a wide range of ways to reflect on the ties that bind us.
Black Cake
by Charmaine Wilkerson
In present-day California, Byron and Benny are left to unravel a mystery by their recently deceased mother in the form of a black cake and a voice recording.
As the siblings learn about their mother’s tumultuous, previously unknown, past, “We are left to think about the things we inherit from our ancestors — physical traits, mental and emotional strife, even cultural attachments, like a beloved recipe that has the power to bring us home, if only in our minds.” (The Washington Post)
- Collection connections with Charmaine Wilkerson’s Black Cake
- Folger Book Club resource guide for Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
- Explore the unexpected connection between Emily Dickinson and black cake
- Try your hand at making a black cake at home
- Watch Black Cake on Hulu
The Weird Sisters
by Eleanor Brown
Three very different sisters from a Shakespeare-loving household return to their childhood home in a moment of family difficulty only to find themselves slipping into old familiar patterns. Equal parts loving and combative, their shifting relationships remind us that sometimes going back is the only way forward.
- Learn more about early modern families with our Book Club Weird Sisters resource guide
- Discussion questions for The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
- See how each sister is reflected in Folger Collection Connections
Booth
by Karen Joy Fowler
Ever felt overshadowed by a sibling? Edwin Booth can relate. A famous and acclaimed Shakespearean actor (and son of the same), Edwin is not nearly as remembered today as his younger brother, John Wilkes. Beginning in 1822 and charting the Booth family’s history through the non-John siblings, Booth is a rich portrayal of family relationships colliding with history.
- Listen to our Shakespeare Unlimited podcast interview with author Nora Titone | The Actor and the Assassin: Edwin and John Wilkes Booth
- Discover the breadth of material related to the Booth family through our Book Club resource guide
- Explore these Booth family collection highlights
Two versions of The Taming of the Shrew
Vinegar Girl
by Anne Tyler
Dating Dr. Dil
by Nisha Sharma
Speaking of sibling rivalries, Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew offers a great example in Kate and Bianca, who find themselves reimagined in two different contemporary adaptations.
Anne Tyler’s Vinegar Girl, part of the Hogarth series, hinges on a green card plot while Nisha Sharma’s steamy romance Dating Dr. Dil has her protagonists motivated by financial concerns. In both novels, the tensions between the Kate characters’ desires and family needs are a constant theme, demonstrating the pressures that are sometimes put on the eldest sibling’s shoulders.
- Read The Taming of the Shrew
- Dive into collection connections, resources guides, and more for Vinegar Girl and Dating Dr. Dil
However you celebrate—and whatever you choose to read—we hope you have a wonderful holiday season!
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