The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake: A Novel by Aimee Bender

When cooks or chefs prepare food, they leave behind a part of themselves. Many of us work out aggressions and feelings through cooking and baking. Imagine if others could taste those emotions as part of the end result. What would sadness taste like if it were an ingredient folded into lemon cake? In this novel, the main character is a young girl who discovers she has the unique ability to taste feelings through food.

But, just as not all emotions feel good, sometimes the end results taste very bad. Bitter. Acidic. Tangy. What does happiness taste like? Is it light? Sweet? Does eating something sad make one feel sad as well? This book is magical realism at its finest, a fictional discovery of the senses. It may make you look differently at the food you make and the food you eat, and the love in which you prepare food for others.