The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
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Being able to taste people's emotions in food may at first be horrifying. But young, unassuming Rose Edelstein grows up learning to harness her gift as she becomes aware that there are secrets even her taste buds cannot discern.
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When she turns nine, Rose Edelstein discovers she has a remarkable gift. In whatever she eats, she can taste the mood of whoever made the food. Unfortunately, what she tastes most often is despair, longing, hurt, or emptiness – so her gift is actually a curse. Only one person believes her, her brother’s brilliant best friend. One person ignores her, her nearly-brilliant brother. Her vibrant mother frets, her distant father placates. As Rose matures, so does her talent, until she can taste individual ingredients, tell where they came from, and even which farm or factory. But always there is the human element in the food that tastes of something sad, and always Rose must mask the nature of her gift by eating pre-packaged junk food. However, when her detached brother begins to disappear for days at a time, Rose begins to realize that she may not be the only person in her family with a peculiar talent, and that hers may not be the most painful. The story is told from Rose’s rather neurotic perspective, but the author uses the unusual convention of no quotation marks to indicate when a character is speaking, so the reader must pay closer attention to the narrative, pay closer attention to who is saying what. But as Rose discovers, being able to taste people’s moods is no more revealing the words they speak, and it certainly gives her no power to prevent or correct the sadness she senses in others. The central character of the first part of the novel is her mother, the climax of the novel involves her brother, but the mystery behind her own talent is solved from an entirely unexpected quarter. With this revelation Rose stops resenting both her gift and herself, and learns to appreciate the uniqueness of both. Funny, heartbreaking and mysterious, The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake is a surreal tale comparable to The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman or The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry.
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Add a CommentThe premise is interesting, and you gotta love the title… It’s a worthy read, but I felt the author left way to many loose ends. I won’t turn this into a spoiler by going into detail, but you never do find out what happened to her brother Joseph; a far more complex & interesting person than the main character Rose. I’m convinced Aimee’s setting us up for a sequel, fine & dandy, but I felt a little let down when it ended rather abruptly & inconclusively
Fascinating concept. Really enjoyed through to the end.
This book was okay. I loved the premise of someone being able to taste another person's emotions in the food (it made me think of like water for chocolate) but she was un able to do much with the story. I was left feeling like she had introduced all of these characters, but there wasn't much of a story line to it. I felt a little let down by the ending. Still, I enjoyed the descriptions of the emotions. Not bad.
The book started off interesting especially when Rose started feeling emotions through the food. After that though, it was a slow read. I expected to be captivated and feel like I couldn't put the book down but that wasn't what happened.
Okay. Started off a bit slow, though. I had to skip through a few pages because I was so bored...
"Jodi Picoult says of this book that the writing is so beautiful that ‘sometimes I have to stop and taste a sentence a second time’. I know exactly what she means – Aimee Bender’s pages are rich in texture and flavour, and her blend of food and emotion as the driving force of her story is little short of inspired." Richard and Judy Book Club Review
If there was a point to the book I missed it. I finished it to be polite to the author, but otherwise would have returned it to the library. Boo...
I had to read this for class, unfortunately. The worst book I've read in years. Seems suited more for children.
I enjoyed this book because of its creativity. It was an interesting and fun read; although, the ending felt rushed.
reviewed in the Stratford Gazette's Shelf Life column