Tuesday, November 8, 2011

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake: A Novel

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender tells the story of nine-year old Rose Edelstein, who, after taking a bite of her mother's homemade lemon-chocolate cake, learns that she can "taste" her mother's feelings and emotions. Rose learns of deep family secrets kept by her mother, father and brother.

More information about the book at Amazon.com.
Information about Aimee Bender on her website.

Please post a comment about the book and whether it would be suitable for the SJSU Campus Reading Program. Thanks.

3 comments:

Amanda Dohse said...

I liked this book for its unique plot and I think that it's written really beautifully. I don't think it's right for the campus reading program for the following reasons. The premise of the book is that the main character essentially has the super power of being able to taste emotions in people's food. I kept wanting her to do something (good or bad) with this super power but the book wasn't really about doing anything with this gifts (or whatever this super power is) and I don't love that message for the Campus Reading Program. The book was a lot like an independent film, which a lot of people must like because it's a very common theme, where a lot of the characters are pretty odd (or unique) but everyone else is so self absorbed that no one notices. There are quite a few "I see dead people" moments- where characters are disclosing some pretty major stuff, and the other characters response is barely more than, "Oh" I think this is what the author was going for, but it made the overall feel of the book depressing, which can be good, but I prefer a more uplifting book for the CRP. It also lacks in some themes compared to the other books we are considering and I don't think there's enough to connect to much academic coursework.

Professor Nellen said...

I read through page 49 and a few later chapters to see if anything showed up that might make it suitable for the CRP. I don't think there is enough here to justify its selection compared to past year's selection. Also, I think a story that spends so much time on an elementary school girl won't grab the attention of most college students. There just isn't enough here to justify its selection. I agree with Amanda's commentary on it.

Professor Nellen said...

I read through page 49 and a few later chapters to see if anything showed up that might make it suitable for the CRP. I don't think there is enough here to justify its selection compared to past year's selection. Also, I think a story that spends so much time on an elementary school girl won't grab the attention of most college students. There just isn't enough here to justify its selection. I agree with Amanda's commentary on it.