The Particular Sadness of Lemoncake
“The Particular Sadness of Lemoncake” is the story of Rose Edelstein and how, on her ninth birthday, she discovers she has the gift to taste what the person preparing the food she’s eating was feeling. Unfortunately, she discovers this on a day when her mother is making her a lemon cake for her birthday and Rose can taste the sadness and loneliness that her mother is feeling. From there it’s a coming-of-age story about Rose and her special gift as well as a story about a nuclear family: A father who is absent, a mother who is unsatisfied with the life she has chosen, and a brother who is struggling with his own unique talent.
Bender’s writing is superb and, as always, reminds the reader what magic writers do with words. Though the story is told in the vein of magical realism, don’t let this genre prevent you from giving it a try. At its heart it is a novel about discovery of self and what it means to be part of the world and part of a family, dysfunction and all.
Other books by Aimee Bender (which I also highly recommend):
An Invisible Sign of my Own(Now a movie starring Jessica Alba!)
Willful Creatures: Stories
The Girl in the Flammable Skirt: Stories
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