The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
On the eve of her ninth birthday, unassuming 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. To her horror, she finds that her cheerful mother tastes of despair. Soon, she’s privy to the secret knowledge that most families keep hidden: her father’s detachment, her mother’s transgression, her brother’s increasing retreat from the world. But there are some family secrets that even her cursed taste buds can’t discern.
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Readers say *The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake* is beautifully written with a dreamy, surreal style and a poignant emotional core. Reviewers agree ...
Rose Edelstein, at 9 years old, bites into a piece of lemon cake made by her mother and discovers, to her horror, that she can taste the emotions of her mother, and thereafter everything she eats is tainted by this ability/curse.
I think I expected this book to be something akin to Like Water for Chocolate, which it was not. AND I was not prepared for the fantastical elements to the story. But once I got into that part of it, I was completely happy to go along for the ride. I only wish some of that stuff was developed/explained further!
Beautiful, lyrical writing, especially her descriptions of the food.
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