The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, by Aimee Bender

“I lavished in a forkful of spinach gratin on the side, of how delighted the chef had clearly been over the balance of spinach and cheese, like she was conducting a meeting of spinach and cheese, like a matchmaker who knew they would shortly fall in love.”

- excerpted from The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

Forgive me if I seem less excited over The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake (published in 2010 by Doubleday) than I should. It’s just that, even though I finished reading this book before I finished The Prince of Tides, I reversed the order in which I wrote the reviews, and now I can’t possibly make Aimee Bender’s novel sound like it should.

The premise of Bender’s book (a much faster read than Conroy’s) is that Rose Edelstein discovers the night before her ninth birthday that she can taste feelings. That is, when she bites into a forkful of spaghetti, she can not only discern exactly where the pasta and sauce were made and manufactured, but also the mood of the cook that put together the meal. Unfortunately, this is an unwanted gift. Rose immediately discovers that her mother is restless and unhappy (and having an affair) and that people all around town are angry and rushed and unsettled.

Meanwhile, Rose’s brother, Joseph, also has a gift, a gift that makes him disappear for long periods of time – and only Rose knows about his gift.

Bender’s novel is fun and imaginative and worth a read, but I can’t say I’ll ever read it again. Then again, maybe I’m just bitter because my jaw is wired shut from a recent break and reading about foods I couldn’t eat was excruciating. So take my opinion with a grain of salt.

(Note: Even though I didn't love the book, I'm very excited about why I read this book in the first place. I'm part of an online book club that "meets" once a month to discuss - via posts - the book chosen for each particular meeting. Jana, the founder and host of the book club, also posts a recipe to make prior to the day of the meeting so we can all be munching on the same treat while we write our posts. I don't know any of the members of the club personally, but it has been such fun these last couple of months to "talk books" in this no-pressure environment. Last month we read Julia Child's My Life in France, which I absolutely loved, and made beignets, French doughnuts that I never would have tried making if it weren't for this occasion! ...And they were delicious. Anyone's free to join...just saying!)