The particular sadness of lemon cake : Book review

Book review

Title: The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
Author: Aimee Bender
Genre: Fiction

‘The particular sadness of lemon cake’ is a story about a 9 year old girl with a peculiar gift.

When Rose takes a bite of her mother’s home made lemon cake, she discovers her magical gift. She is able to taste her mother’s emotions through the cake. To her surprise, the lemon cake tastes of sadness and gloom which is unlike her usually cheerful mother.

Gradually over time, she unearths several family secrets. Her mother’s clandestine affair with a co worker, her father’s aloofness and her brother’s retreat from the world.

Written in first person from the point of view of Rose, the story gives a taste into her growing up years and her struggles to live with this rather exquisite gift of hers.

Innovative , intense and engaging, it’s weird in a magical sort of way.  Themes of family and food are touched upon here. Reading this book will make you look at cakes with a different lens, particularly if it’s a lemon cake!

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