4thace reviewed The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
Review of 'The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
The tricky thing about these kinds of novels is the ending, and the author didn't do herself any favors with the predicaments she'd set up for some of her characters here. Clearly she spent a lot of time considering how to wind up the tale of her protagonist, but with some of the secondary characters we've come to care about, the narrative simply comes to an end, in a way that simulated realism, I felt. I don't think this would be to everyone's taste, but if the reader is willing to go along with a sense of emotional truth in the end, there is some satisfaction to be found. Don't try to expect any explanations and you won't be too disappointed when none of those are forthcoming finally.
I wouldn't call any of the players richly characterized, not even the narrator, but there are moments of depth punctuating the storyline. …
The tricky thing about these kinds of novels is the ending, and the author didn't do herself any favors with the predicaments she'd set up for some of her characters here. Clearly she spent a lot of time considering how to wind up the tale of her protagonist, but with some of the secondary characters we've come to care about, the narrative simply comes to an end, in a way that simulated realism, I felt. I don't think this would be to everyone's taste, but if the reader is willing to go along with a sense of emotional truth in the end, there is some satisfaction to be found. Don't try to expect any explanations and you won't be too disappointed when none of those are forthcoming finally.
I wouldn't call any of the players richly characterized, not even the narrator, but there are moments of depth punctuating the storyline. Ordinary characters who don't have one or more extraordinary aspects to them are mostly shuttled off to the periphery, and what the Edelstein family ends up in the end is a grouping that doesn't quite stick together as a unit. It isn't really coming of age material (nor a YA novel) because by the end there are still serious doubts as to whether Rose can make her own way in the world or whether she's still too damaged by her experiences.
