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What Members Thought

Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance
Having just returned from France where all citizens, I think, are born with the ability to taste emotions in food, I must say that I loved this book. Loved it. You must read it. It’s fantastic.

Rose Edelstein discovers on her ninth birthday that she can sense emotions of those who prepare food in the food she eats. The cook. The field hand. The farmer. The factory worker. The waiter.

It is a difficult gift. She learns of her mother’s deep sadness. She finds she is unable to eat most food as she l
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Michelle
Jun 06, 2010 rated it liked it
The basic premise: On the day of her 9th birthday, Rose Edelstein is enjoying her mom's lemon cake with chocolate frosting...until she discovers that she can actually taste her mother's emotions...in the cake. From that day forward, Rose struggles with this new-found ability to taste the feelings and emotions of the people who make the food she eats. She also has to deal with the family secrets she learns through this strange ability.

I would compare this book to Margot Livesey's "Eva Moves the F
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Kent Winward
Sep 02, 2013 rated it liked it
I can handle Haruki Murakami's magical realism, because I know he is playing off of aspects of Japanese culture and mythology, as well as his own fictional peccadilloes that I can relate to, yet Ms. Bender's magical realism centers around food and some type of sci-fi that just didn't go down easily for me. I know the heightened "powers" are supposed to be illustrative of social and family issues, but heightened emotional intuition wasn't enough to carry the story for me and the older brother's a ...more
Tanya
Jun 12, 2010 rated it did not like it
Shelves: 2010
Comments from the author about why she doesn't use quotes to highlight the dialog..."Yeah, I often don't and I don't in this book. Kind of aesthetic choice in certain way because I like how it looks, but it also feels like that line between her internal and external world is a little blurry, which I think is kind of her deal." http://www.npr.org/templates/story/st...

Her comments also seem to explain the way the brother blurs and disappears.

I didn't like the book. I don't recommend the book. I d
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Joseph
A very bizarre book. When I finished it, I wasn't really sure what I had read, there seemed to be so many parts of it that were just left hanging. It was an interesting story that was written an interesting way, but I think it could have been so much more. ...more
Lisa of Hopewell
Feb 16, 2012 rated it it was ok
Forgot to enter this. My current audio book. I was excited by the sound of this--it sounded like a Sarah Addison Allen novel. But now, 3/4 of the way through it's just weird. I'm going to finish it though. Some really unbelievably odd writing. Here are a few examples--most of it sounds like someone trying to hard in a creative writing program:

a pepper "PILLAR" instead of shaker or cellar

"purple-glassed" (votive candle)

"during the babysit" or even "in the babysits"

A sandwich starts off wrapped in
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Daisy
May 29, 2010 marked it as to-read
Shelves: la-hollywood, food
I've never read her before. ...more
Nancy H
Aug 01, 2014 rated it liked it
This is an interesting story with lots of magical realism in it.
Tina
Jun 15, 2010 rated it it was ok
Shelves: foodie
Stacy
Jul 13, 2010 marked it as to-read
Alisa
Jul 31, 2010 rated it liked it
Lisa
Aug 16, 2010 rated it it was ok
Anne
Aug 28, 2010 rated it liked it
Anika
Aug 29, 2010 rated it really liked it
Jennifer
Dec 14, 2010 rated it liked it
Jenna
Dec 31, 2010 added it
Shelves: kindle
Sharon
Jan 18, 2011 marked it as to-read
Rachel
Jan 23, 2011 marked it as to-read
Meghan
Mar 08, 2011 marked it as to-read
Laura
Aug 08, 2011 marked it as to-read
Toni
Aug 21, 2011 rated it it was amazing
Melanie Knight
Dec 18, 2011 rated it it was ok
Liz
Jan 12, 2012 marked it as to-read
Stacey Matson
Mar 08, 2012 rated it it was ok
Hazel
Aug 21, 2013 rated it really liked it
Frankie
Oct 07, 2015 marked it as to-read
Luis
Apr 21, 2016 rated it really liked it
Sarah
Oct 13, 2016 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: wobble-2016
Curlysue
Sep 15, 2017 marked it as to-read