The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, by Aimee Bender, follows nine-year-old Rose Edelstein through her childhood and into adulthood as Rose tries to deal with her gift/curse: when she eats something, she can taste the emotions of the person who made it.  In the lemon cake her cheerful mother made for Rose’s ninth birthday, Rose tastes desperation and deep sadness and soon learns that her family—and many others—hide emotions and feelings that she is suddenly privy to.  As Rose learns more her dysfunctional family, she also comes to realize that even she cannot learn everything through taste alone.

Even though the book may sound a bit like a fantasy, it reads like realistic fiction, and truthfully, that’s what it is.  I really enjoyed most of the book, though about halfway through I got a little bored.  The plot picked up again very quickly, though, and the second half of the books reads much faster than the already enjoyable first half.  The complexity of the characters—especially Rose’s elder brother, Joseph—is fascinating and becomes more so as you delve farther into the book and learn that everyone has their own internal struggles, despite how they appear on the surface.

I think the most interesting parts of the book came at the end, when Rose learns about the motives of those closest to her.  I was surprised by what was revealed about the characters, which made the ending satisfying and I felt that the book was worth reading, as I never would have predicted what happened.  I also learned a lot from it—things I won’t go into as it would give away some of the revelations at the end.

I would recommend this book to anyone—it appeals to a wide age-range (probably 15 and up) and while I read it by myself, I would encourage anyone else to read it with someone.  The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake is perfect for a book club or even a mother-daughter discussion, as the plot and the characters are so complex and dimensional that they just beg to be talked about.  Actually, I think this book could work very well in an English class, as it contains many of the elements of classic literature.

For more information about the book and the author, check out <www.aimeebender.com>.

“Read. Read a lot. Read even books you don't think you'll like. The wisdom of the whole world is contained in books.”  ~Cassandra Clare