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 f...show more

BUY THE BOOK

304 pages

Average rating: 6.15

26 RATINGS

|

6 REVIEWS

Community Reviews

margardenlady
Dec 27, 2023
10/10 stars
Wonderful book! Surprising, fresh and entirely captivating. This completely impractical story was well told and beautifully characterized. The premise itself was a bit out of the realm of human experience, but an interesting idea - tasting the emotions of the food preparer in food items... but the story woven around this improbable condition was charming and enlightening at the same time. The lesson learned is simply to accept who you are and ...read more
tdcobb
Aug 11, 2023
4/10 stars
This book had some interesting quirks. I have certain friends that would probably enjoy this book, but overall, it just wasn't for me. I found the pacing a little slow for my tastes. I wasn't a big fan of the ending either. I sort of felt like it didn't go anywhere.
njlbo1
Jul 18, 2023
8/10 stars
Very weird, but good. :)
Anonymous
Apr 24, 2023
8/10 stars
I'm a huge Aimee Bender fan and this book doesn't disappoint. It's written in Bender's dreamy, surreal style, with nary a quotation mark in sight. There's a deep vein of sadness running through this beautiful story about a little girl who can taste the emotions of whomever prepares her food. Absolutely beautiful, and a current literary classic.
LiziB
Feb 23, 2023
6/10 stars
The supernatural aspects (she can taste emotions of the chef in cooked food) tricked me into reading this sensitive lady-novel. Nice and probably good for the emotionally damaged, but I didn't love it.

See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.