The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender follows the story of a girl who discovers on her tenth birthday that she can taste the emotions of the cook through the food she eats. The book delves into themes of magical realism, exploring the protagonist's journey from childhood to woman #adult, as she learns to cope with this unusual ability. The writing style is described as beautiful, sad, strange, and engaging, with a touch of raw emotion portrayed in an unconventional manner.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings may include themes of mental health struggles, emotional crises, and familial dysfunction.
From The Publisher:
On the eve of her ninth birthday, 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. All at once her cheerful, can-do mother tastes of despair and desperation. Suddenly, and for the rest of her life, food becomes perilous. Anything can be revealed at any meal.
Rose's gift forces her to confront the truth behind her family's emotions - her mother's sadness, her father's detachment and her brother's clash with the world. But as Rose grows up, she learns that there are some secrets even her taste buds cannot discern.
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake is about the pain of loving those whom you know too much about, and the secrets that exist within every family. At once profound, funny, wise and sad, this is a novel to savour.
Ratings (17)
Incredible (2) | |
Loved It (8) | |
It Was OK (3) | |
Did Not Like (3) | |
Hated It (1) |
Reader Stats (52):
Read It (16) | |
Want To Read (26) | |
Did Not Finish (1) | |
Not Interested (9) |
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The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake?
About the Author:
Aimee Bender is the author of the novels The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, a New York Times bestseller, and An Invisible Sign of My Own; and of the collections The Girl in the Flammable Skirt, Willful Creatures and The Color Master. Her work has been widely anthologised and has been translated into sixteen languages. She lives in Los Angeles.
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