The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

by Aimee Bender

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.

• ISBN10: 896588022X
• ISBN13: 9788965880226
• Publish Date: 22 April 2011 (first published 1 January 2010)
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Imprint: All/ Tsai Fong Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 392
• Language: English

Reviews

[ibeforem]

This was a very unusual, but enjoyable, story. Some may think the story centers around Rose’s “gift”, but her abilities soon fade into the background of the story. What was horrible for her at first just becomes another part of her, as she hones her ability to work with and around it. I thought the author came up with some interesting ways for Rose to cope, including eating primarily processed foods (because factories taste better than emotions) and seeking out restaurants where the chefs cook with love.

For me, the story was really about the family. Rose’s family is one where there is so much happening, but no one talks about it. In many ways, Rose is merely an observer. Her mother, brother, and father are all in their own little worlds, especially as Rose and her brother grow older. Turns out, there’s more of a story behind Rose’s gift than she ever would have thought.

I had one problem with the book, and that was with the subplot with her brother. It felt unfinished to me. I suspect that the author thought things were more clear than they actually were, and the story suffers from the ambiguity.

I don’t normally read magical realism, but I won’t be afraid to explore the genre in the future.

[Leah]

When Danielle featured The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake during one of our American Weekends, I fell in love with the cover and the synopsis. I figured it was only going to be a US release, so I was delighted to see it on Amazon UK to be released in February this year. I was even happier to snag myself a proof copy, although it managed to slip down my reading pile a little bit, but I finally found some space to slip it in and it was an interesting read, to say the least.

I liked the idea of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. The idea that a girl can taste people’s feelings by what they cook is a brilliant idea. For the most part, it was well-executed and although I thought Rose was perhaps a more mature 9-year-old than I expected, I liked how she navigated her new gift (or curse, depending on how you feel about it, I suppose). I enjoyed that Rose narrated the book, she narrated how different foods tasted; the way her mum was sad and lonely and unappreciated from her distant husband. How her best friend’s food was filled with love. How her brother’s food tasted so disgusting she had to spit it out. I liked how we saw Rose progress from that 9-year-old girl into a teenager into an adult.

However, I wasn’t a big fan of the lack of background. Why was Rose able to taste people’s moods, people’s feelings? There was a definite lack of explanation there and since I’m an explanation kind of girl I was disappointed. We get a small paragraph about Rose’s father’s father, but that was unsatisfactory at best. I was also incredibly frustrated at how much time was dedicated to Rose’s brother Joe without us being given a worth explanation. After finishing the book I still have no idea what it was Joe was suffering from. What it was that Joe was afflicted with and it really annoys me because I’d really like to know.

For the most part I found myself enjoying the characters. Rose was a wonderful character to carry the book, and she carried it very well. I enjoyed seeing her grow up, how she didn’t let her gift over-run her as she got older. Her parents were ‘there’ without really being ‘there’. They were in the house, they were physically there, but I found them lacking in the parenting department, both more concerned with their own troubles and their own issues. Joe fascinated me, the way he was portrayed I figured there was some autism/asperger’s in him, but that was never confirmed and well, it felt lacking as I’ve already mentioned. It left me wondering ‘Well what happened?! What was it?’ and I just couldn’t figure it out for myself.

Surprisingly, there was a hint of a romance in the novel as Rose finds herself getting closer with George, a friend of Joe’s. I liked their friendship and I could see it going somewhere more once they were both old enough, but it all seemed to peter out and I was rather disappointed. Bender had built it up quite well, getting me invested and then it all collapsed. I wasn’t expecting it in the novel, though, so it wasn’t too bad. All in all, I enjoyed the novel. It didn’t blow me away. And I was increasingly annoyed by the lack of quotation marks (why, oh, why would an editor allow that one to fly? Answers on a postcard, please). It’s a good enough book but it lacks the punch needed. The emotion was there, but the lack of explanations and the lack of telling us about Joe let the book down sorely. I would recommend it, as fans of quirky magical books would probably enjoy it.

[ladygrey]

Aimee Bender's style is a little different. The dialog as narration took some getting used to. But this is such a unique, well written book. The complexities of emotion were interesting. All of the characters were flawed and still lovable or at the very least understandable. The pacing of the narrative and the way she moves through it were very effective. It's haunting and prosaic and I love that she doesn't make it hard to read or horrible, even though everything isn't sunshine and roses. It's a rather fascinating and yet uncomfortable book.

[Eve1972]

Really liked this one! It was an odd little gem of a book.