The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake in Pick-a-Shelf

Jun 06, 2024 Sabrina rated it really liked it · review of another edition

What would you do if with every bite you took you could taste the emotions of the person who made the dish? What if you could taste your feelings? Someone else's?

On the eve of her 9th birthday, Rose Edelstein discovers that she can taste her mother's emotions when she bites into the chocolate lemon cake that her mother made. And her mother, who appears to always be cheerful and willing to tackle any problem suddenly tastes of despair.

Food becomes a dangerous option for Rose as she realizes tha What would you do if with every bite you took you could taste the emotions of the person who made the dish? What if you could taste your feelings? Someone else's?

On the eve of her 9th birthday, Rose Edelstein discovers that she can taste her mother's emotions when she bites into the chocolate lemon cake that her mother made. And her mother, who appears to always be cheerful and willing to tackle any problem suddenly tastes of despair.

Food becomes a dangerous option for Rose as she realizes that with any bite things she doesn't want to know or things she is not ready to understand can be revealed. So, any meal or any snack can be a trepidatious experience for Rose, who turns to processed pre-packaged foods to try to avoid eating the emotions of those she knows and loves.

I will say that I don't think that I have been a huge fan of magical realism, simply because sometimes it just seems too ridiculous. That was not the case with The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake I guess because it was easy to think that if you can taste the love someone puts into their cooking, which seems to be an expression that many people use, then why could other emotions and feelings not be tasted in food?

The writing in this book is just beautiful; there are so many lines that are worded beautifully and interestingly that they just seem to stick with you long after you read them and resonate beyond the reading of the book.

The character of Rose is one of those children characters that you can easily picture. She feels part of her family, but feels like her mother simply focuses all her energy on her brother Joseph, and so Rose feels loved but not recognized; she feels unseen as part of her family, while Joseph seems to simply have all her mother's attention and energy because he is, in his mother's eyes "special and brilliant". Rose's father is simply distant, in some ways, from both kids and seems, most of the time to be oblivious to not only the going-ons in the house but in wife's life.

Overally, this is a poignant and compelling read that I would recommend. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jun 09, 2010 Joanna rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, 2011-read

I read Willful Creatures in one sitting earlier this year. Before that, I'd never heard of Aimee Bender. I so adored the short stories that I immediately sought out her novel. And this book was good. But it didn't have the magnificence of the short stories.

This novel traces the story of Rose, who discovers that she can taste the feelings and thoughts of the people who made the food she eats. This is a fabulous idea that was described with interesting detail. But nothing ever really happened wit ...more

Like · see review

Jun 13, 2010 Joanie rated it really liked it

Shelves: audio-book, 2013

I'm torn on what to rate this one. I really enjoyed the stuff about Rose being able to taste peoples' feeling in their food-it really made me wonder what would people taste in the food I cook. Would the food taste different on the nights when I'm trying to throw something together quickly before we run out to some sport practice? Would my family be able to tell if I was feeling overwhelmed when I cooked for a big family event? Would the love and positive feeling be conveyed as well? What secrets ...more

Like · see review

Jun 13, 2010 Tara rated it really liked it

Hmm- This is a hard one to review. I had to digest it a bit before writing a review. One of the reasons it is so hard for me to review is that it was wonderfully readable. It was a page turner and once I was hooked I had to keep reading. She has a wonderful cadence to her writing.
What is difficult was that the book took a direction that was surprising to me. It was not what I expected. Although Rose's tasting feelings ability does play a role in the story, but the story turns and twists into mo ...more

Like · see review

Jan 14, 2011 Lorna rated it liked it

Shelves: fiction-literary

I wanted to read this when I saw that it had recently received an Alex Award which is an award given to a book written for adults that has special appeal to young adults. I don't know though, this book was pretty odd. There were some beautiful thoughts expressed by the author and it was original but overall I found it to be slow reading. ...more

Like · see review

Dec 02, 2010 Jayme Pendergraft rated it liked it

Shelves: 2010, around-the-world-in-80-books

I found this novel horribly depressing. I didn't really enjoy any of the characters but I thought the whole idea behind the novel was a good one. I liked George, but that just added to the overall feeling of depression I got from the entire book. Three stars for creativity though. ...more

Like · see review

Nov 22, 2010 Tien rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction

A fascinating read... confusing, sad... very, very lonely...

I'm still not quite sure what I think as I mentioned it was kind of confusing and I kept thinking there's something wrong with the people around her or is it her? Still haven't made up my mind. Maybe, there isn't anything particularly wrong with anyone but just how life is. That's what's sad and yet... it's not far off, it is quite realistic in a way. ...more

Like · see review

Apr 17, 2011 Bea rated it it was amazing

This book is about a young girl growing up to accept herself and her family. She has an inherited that gift that manifested itself in her ability to know from the taste of food what the cook was feeling while making the food, where the food came from, and other details. As she grows into her young adult stage, she discovers that other family members have had other gifts and learns of the gift that has grown in her brother.

Like · see review

Aug 11, 2010 Gina rated it it was ok

This was a hard book to read. I had a hard time getting used to not using quotation marks. I also did not fully understand what happened to the brother.

Like · see review

Jun 08, 2010 Mita rated it liked it

Shelves: read-in-2010

I was quite surprised cause I thought it was going to be light and fluffy, like chicklit. It's darker but it's beautifully written and I just couldn't put it down. ...more

Like · see review

Jun 16, 2010 Sara rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, read-2010

What a magical book! I really felt for Rose through her journey. Her gift/curse made me start to look at food in a different way. What a wonderful journey to take.

Like · see review