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After loving Black Cake, I went into Good Dirt with high hopes, which may be why this one felt like such a letdown. Charmaine Wilkerson aims for another sweeping family story, but this time the pieces never fully click.
The novel follows Ebby Freeman, whose childhood trauma and family history are tied to the loss of a stoneware jar passed down through generations. On paper, that heirloom should carry deep meaning, yet I kept wondering why anyone would want it in the first place and why it held such enormous value. Instead of anchoring the story, the jar often left me scratching my head.
Wilkerson raises intriguing questions about legacy, race, and how the past shapes the present. I appreciated the intention, and there are moments where the emotional weight almost lands. The problem is that the plot feels thin, and the many threads never quite weave into a satisfying whole. The author clearly tries to connect everything through the history of the jar, but the story’s strands drift instead of locking together.
More than once, I found myself thinking that the narrative simply didn’t make sense, which made it hard to stay invested in Ebby’s journey. That’s frustrating, because the writing itself is polished and thoughtful.
In the end, Good Dirt has big themes and admirable ambition but compared to the richness and cohesion of Black Cake, this one left me disappointed.
** Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for a comp. Opinions are my own.