The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
On the eve of her ninth birthday, unassuming Rose Edelstein bites into her mother's homemade lemon-chocolate cake and discovers she has a magical gift: she can taste her mother's emotions in the slice. To her horror, she finds that her cheerful mother tastes of despair. Soon, she's privy to the secret knowledge that most families keep hidden: her father's detachment, her mother's transgression, her brother's increasing retreat from the world. But there are some family secrets that even her cursed taste buds can't discern.
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Community Reviews
This book had some interesting quirks. I have certain friends that would probably enjoy this book, but overall, it just wasn't for me. I found the pacing a little slow for my tastes. I wasn't a big fan of the ending either. I sort of felt like it didn't go anywhere.
I'm a huge Aimee Bender fan and this book doesn't disappoint. It's written in Bender's dreamy, surreal style, with nary a quotation mark in sight. There's a deep vein of sadness running through this beautiful story about a little girl who can taste the emotions of whomever prepares her food. Absolutely beautiful, and a current literary classic.
The supernatural aspects (she can taste emotions of the chef in cooked food) tricked me into reading this sensitive lady-novel. Nice and probably good for the emotionally damaged, but I didn't love it.
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