Written By: Victoria Christensen
Right from the title, one could draw the conclusion that this book has something to do with lemon cake, and you would be correct but this book is about so much more. Throughout this book we follow a girl named Rose as she grows up and we see how her relation to food develops in the most peculiar way. Critics use words like "fanciful," "charming," and "fairy-tale like" to describe this incredibly relatable novel.
At the beginning, Rose sets the scene of her ninth birthday. Her favorite cake is lemon cake with chocolate frosting, so naturally, her mother bakes her this special cake every year for her birthday. But, this years cake was a little "off." At first, Rose couldn't quite put her finger on why the cake didn't taste the same. She tried other foods made by someone else that seemed to taste just fine, but when she had diner made by her mother, she could taste that same emptiness. To Rose's dismay, she concluded that she could taste her mothers sadness and depression through her cooking. Through her mothers cooking, this novel really symbolizes how a child tries to understand the adult world and the struggles people go through.
This book also depicts a very common concept. When my grandmother would cook for me and I would tell her how good the food was, she would proudly proclaim, "That's because I made it with love." I think in a way we can in fact taste when something is made with the heart and this book takes on the reverse concept. What happens when the person cooking your meal is sad? What would that taste like?
Right from the title, one could draw the conclusion that this book has something to do with lemon cake, and you would be correct but this book is about so much more. Throughout this book we follow a girl named Rose as she grows up and we see how her relation to food develops in the most peculiar way. Critics use words like "fanciful," "charming," and "fairy-tale like" to describe this incredibly relatable novel.
At the beginning, Rose sets the scene of her ninth birthday. Her favorite cake is lemon cake with chocolate frosting, so naturally, her mother bakes her this special cake every year for her birthday. But, this years cake was a little "off." At first, Rose couldn't quite put her finger on why the cake didn't taste the same. She tried other foods made by someone else that seemed to taste just fine, but when she had diner made by her mother, she could taste that same emptiness. To Rose's dismay, she concluded that she could taste her mothers sadness and depression through her cooking. Through her mothers cooking, this novel really symbolizes how a child tries to understand the adult world and the struggles people go through.
This book also depicts a very common concept. When my grandmother would cook for me and I would tell her how good the food was, she would proudly proclaim, "That's because I made it with love." I think in a way we can in fact taste when something is made with the heart and this book takes on the reverse concept. What happens when the person cooking your meal is sad? What would that taste like?