Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson

Rating: 5 of 5 stars 

Pages: 336 pages
Published: January 2025

Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson is the author’s sophomoric novel, my second read of hers, and the monthly selection by the Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club. Black Cake, Wilkerson’s debut novel, was a roaring success and adapted to a limited series on Hulu. I read it several years ago, and when I learned of her latest project, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy. It was simply kismet when I heard that the book would be the club’s February read-along with accompanying author chat.

The latter novel is set in present day and centers around an affluent African American family who live in a mainly white neighborhood where nearly 20 years prior, their eldest son, Baz, is murdered in front of his younger sister, Ebby, during the commission of an attempted robbery of the family’s heirloom jar, affectionately referred to as Old Mo. While the robbery was unsuccesful, the jar was seemingly destroyed, and the culprits were never found and brought to justice. Meanwhile Ebby has spent much of her childhood and all of her adult life living in the shadow of this unfortunate tragedy. And just when life seems to be taking a turn toward the positive for the family, Ebby is publicly humiliated, thrusting her back into the unwanted spotlight. On a journey of self-healing, she leaves for France, but life calls her back home to reconnect with her parents so they can all tend to their unhealed wounds.

Throughout the 300-page novel, the reader is slowly made aware of the mysterious elements of the crime while alternating historical viewpoints help piece together the history of the family’s beloved possession, Old Mo. In this novel, which is very different from Black Cake, Wilkerson engages the reader with her lyrical prose, intriguing plot, and expansive storytelling to deliver a novel complete with all the makings of a New York Times bestseller.

"Most of the trouble in this world boils down to one person not recognizing the worth of another," -page 17

No matter how influential or admired Ebony's family may have been, they were still black, and Henry's mother was still the kind of mother for whom the Freemans would never have been good enough. -page 45

People saw their skin, not their history. -page 54

Be aware of a beautiful moment as it is happening. Take note of your life as you are living it. -page 55

Embrace the variety of words available to you. Make sure you can command the language in such a way that no one can ever doubt your ability to do so." -page 57

This is the only way she knows to be a woman in this world, by leaving much of who she is unsaid. -page 83

People liked to argue otherwise, but deep down, they understood that it was a challenge to level the economic playing field between white and black Americans when one group of people had inherited their wealth over generations by using the other group as forced or low-paid labor. -page 115

That jar represented all those stories he could tell his children that most people never told about black folks in America. -page 117

She knew that just because the law gave a man the power to tell you that you were not a person in your own right, it did not make it so. - page 142

Because our history is everyone’s history. Our history is American history. -page 172

“They can’t tie up the mind with a rope, but they keep trying to anyhow.” -page 180

"Our ancestors have been going to sea for as long as anyone can remember. It is only natural that some of us return to ride the waves. To listen for the voices of those who went before us. We cannot undo the worst days of our past, but we can always look to better days. A man might have fear, young Willis, but he lives all the same.” -page 184

If it came down to it, he would jump from the deck of the ship rather than return to bondage. -page 193

To tell your story was to experience a kind of freedom. To be able to share the news of your adventures, to name your relations and favorite places, was to be a man. -page 196

The more dangerous things became, the more generous they found people to be. -page 225

They had found a place with good dirt, but they could not be sure of holding on to it. -page 226

Sometimes, people let you down, but they're still your people. -page 260

But you could not tell a mother who had raised black children in the sixties and seventies, not even in their prosperous, quiet corner of New England, that her children would always be safe. You could not grow up to be a black man, no matter how successful, without knowing, in some quadrant of your brain, that you were more vulnerable to potential harm than other men. You had to watch your back. You had to teach your son to watch his back. -page 266

Perhaps the only way to cope with loss, or guilt, is to name it and defy its potential to destroy you. -page 321

Maybe all you can do is give yourself permission to embrace the rest of your life. To play, to love, to risk. To take the beauty that someone brought into your life and share it. -page 321

History, too often, has been told from only certain perspectives. This is not good enough. History is a collective phenomenon. It can only be told through a chorus of voices. And that chorus must make room from new voices over time. -page 327

I felt very invested in this story, and I felt as though the author saw me as she described some of the challenges Ebby and her family faced being successful African Americans in the U.S. Wilkerson is a lovely writer. I enjoyed how she wove this story together, and while some parts were not relatable to me - I have not a special heirloom piece like Old Mo - but the story just felt so relatable, like home, if you will.

I have read other reviews that posit the story seemed incomplete, half done, or didn’t quite meet the mark as the first novel. To that I must say, when you’ve set the bar so high with your debut, sometimes you don’t deliver the same anticipated level of story the second time. (However, I completely disagree with these reviews. I loved this book. It is not the same as the first, but, in my opinion, just as good.) 

Additionally, commentary around the confusion of the historical retelling and the alternating present-day setting made sense to me. As a Black person in the United States, we have no historical frame of reference beyond 400+ years because our history was stolen along with our ancestors. The time period within those 400 years included centuries of enslavement of our ancestors, where even if we can trace our history, it is often spotty because our relatives were literally sold to the highest bidder or worked to the death with little-to-record of living other than the evidence of the success of the land U.S. citizens can now enjoy. So, I suppose if someone is confused following the story … welcome to our world. The book provides a realistic depiction. 

Recommendation: If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it 100 times. Not every book is for everyone. This book happened to speak to my soul, and just like Wilkerson’s first novel, I give it my strongest recommendation and five out of five stars. 

Until next time ... Read on!

Regardless of whether I purchase a book, borrow a book, or receive a book in exchange for review, my ultimate goal is to be honest, fair, and constructive. I hope you've found this review helpful.