The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

Rose and George both conclude that she is best able to detect emotions in those who do not comprehend their own emotions. When Rose tastes the sandwich made by his girlfriend, Rose claims it is “yelling at me to love it.” The baker concedes that this probably accurately describes his situation with his girlfriend. The cookie, indeed, matches the state of the baker. He takes Rose to a bakery where she eats a cookie she describes as angry. He designs an experiment to determine the strength of her abilities. George is also very kindhearted toward Rose. Joseph’s friend George is the only person who seems to take Rose’s condition seriously. Joseph, Rose’s brother, thinks Rose is crazy. Rose’s father, Paul, is oblivious to anything peculiar going on. Unable to understand Rose’s complaints about the food, Rose’s mother assumes she herself is making mistakes in the kitchen. Rose soon discovers that she can taste emotions in all the food she consumes, and she can’t stand it. While Rose’s mother denies that she is unhappy, Rose can tell from the cake that her mother is lying. Upon eating a cake that her mother, Lane, has made, Rose discovers that it tastes of emptiness and sorrow. The novel begins right before Rose Edelstein’s ninth birthday.

Entwining elements of surrealism into a narrative of realism, the author uses Rose’s bizarre ability to represent her powers of perception and capacity for recognizing the needs of others. Her mother feels trapped in her own life, her compliant father has a strange fear of hospitals, and her brother-deemed a science genius-possesses a weirdness that is off-putting. Rose’s relationship with food reflects the emotional tension of being raised in a very quirky family.

The story follows Rose Edelstein, who develops the ability to taste emotions in the food she eats. Published in 2010, The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake is a novel written by Aimee Bender.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender