The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

      Review by Erin Collazo:
     When Rose is nine, she acquires a strange ability -- she can taste the feelings of the person who prepares her food. In fact, she not only tastes the feelings of the chef, she can taste feelings from the people who picked the fruit or milled the flour or had any role in producing any of the base ingredients. This ability, as you can imagine, complicates her life. She learns more about people than she wants to know. She is especially disturbed by deep sadness within her mother.

      Rose is an easy character to like, and Aimee Bender develops her voice well. Bender also writes some concrete episodes in Rose's day-to-day life to illustrate what Rose is experiencing. Overall, though, I felt a little rushed in getting to know Rose. The novel follows Rose from age 9 to adulthood, so it is more of an overview rather than an intimate portrait.

      Rose's brother, Joseph, also seems to have unusual abilities. In fact, Joseph's disappearances drive the second half of the novel. Although this provides some suspense in the plot, in the end I wished there were a little more meat to the character development. Joseph was pretty flat, yet much of Rose's (and the novels) development depended on him.

It may seem as if I did not like The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. In fact, I enjoyed the novel. Sometimes, though, fast food can taste good while you are eating it, but after it sits in your stomach you feel the effects of too much grease and sodium. Lemon Cake is a fun indulgence, but I wish Bender had gone even deeper with her creative idea.

The Bottom Line

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender has generated a lot of buzz. Some have hailed it as one of the best books of 2010. Much of the appeal of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, it seems to me, is in its unique premise and easy to read narrative. Perhaps that is enough to make it a buzz-worthy book. I would certainly recommend it for your beach bag or book club. I enjoyed The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, however, after the book had settled, I realized it was, in fact, more like dessert or a snack than a substantial meal. It is fun, but may not stick with you long.

Pros

• The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake has a unique premise that is interesting to consider.
• There is a likable narrative voice.
• There is a good mix of revelation and mystery in the end.

Cons

• In some ways the book does not feel filled out enough, as if there is a rush to the end.
• Joseph's "gift" was perhaps a little too absurd for me.
• A week after finishing the book, it was not particularly memorable anymore.

Wallander

I borrowed 'Wallander' from the university library and I liked it very much. There are 6 episodes, each one in a different DVD.

You can check out this link: http://www.inspector-wallander.org/

I brought to you this review with which I agree:

'I usually enjoy British-made mystery series, "Wallander," starring Kenneth Brannaugh, is one of the recent series that particularly stands out.


Based on the mystery novels by Henning Mankell, "Wallander" maintains the Swedish setting of the novels, and the slightly moody tone of the books. Wallander is a complex character with many foibles, but he remains sympathetic, and Brannaugh's portrayal is spot-on. The relationship of the title character with his daughter and his colleagues rings true both to life and to the original novels.


I highly recommend "Wallander" for anyone who likes character-driven detective mysteries. (ETA: BTW, anyone who has a chance to see the original Swedish "Wallander" series, it is somewhat different, the drama more implied through the circumstances of the particular crimes, and is more subdued; there's also more of a "police procedural" feel to it. They're sometimes shown on U.S. television w/ English subtitles. I don't know if it's available dubbed or not -- but as I prefer not to watch things that are dubbed even when I don't speak the language, I'm very glad to say that I'm only acquainted with the subtitled version. I'd say that the Swedish version picks up more the plot and action of the books, whereas the British version is more interested in the characters, particularly Wallander, but also the characters and motivation of the perpetrators.)

source