Lindsay Gloade-Raining Bird

Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson (2025, Penguin Random House)

✅ audiobook provided by Penguin Random House through the Librofm influencer program

I really enjoy a generational family saga. In Good Dirt we’re with the Freemans—one of the only Black families in a wealthy enclave in New England. Ten-year-old Ebby witnesses her brother get murdered during a home invasion and we see how that loss shapes her as an adult. Tracing the generations back through the passing of a historic jar handed down through their family, we’re introduced to the enslaved potters who made uncredited beautiful work, and used it as an instrument of escape; the newly free Black sailors that worked on whaling and trade ships always at risk of being captured again; the road to freedom and the legacy and trauma of the journey passed down through generations; how eventual affluence and generational wealth might insulate but ultimately can’t protect the Freemans from prejudice and violence.

This was a solid read, the history of enslaved Black potters and free sailors was fascinating, and I’d have like to stay with them even longer than the time we had. I liked main character Ebby but found her more romantic storyline centered around losing her white fiancé then running into him at a rental house in France kind of out of place to the rest of the novel. It almost felt as though I were reading two very different books but, not in a necessarily bad way. Enjoyable but constantly shifting wavelengths.

I found myself really enjoying this when I turned it on, but a bit forgettable when I wasn’t actively listening. And at times I got a little lost in the timeline. But, the audiobook is narrated by January LaVoy who is phenomenal so I was able to forgive any issues I had with the novel and just allow myself to be carried along for the ride.

I haven’t read Charmaine Wilerson’s other book Black Cake yet but feel like I definitely want to prioritize it now!