One of the first things we did when we began this blog almost a year ago was introduce ourselves by our favorite books. Mine was, of course, the delectable Girl in the Flammable Skirt by Aimee Bender. This is a collection of strange but memorably depicted stories with lush images and semi-fantastical settings. No matter how many times I reread some of the stories — in particular, “The Ring” — it still as fresh as the first time I read it.

When I saw Bender had a new book coming out soon, I knew I had to get my hands on it. Luckily for me, the folks at Random House had galleys of this title at PLA and my entire trip was made by that alone.

But I digress.

Just as I’ve come to expect from Bender, The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake is a very strange story. Rose is 9 years old when she begins to realize she’s different; it’s a different she figures out upon biting into her mother’s lemon-chocolate cake. Rose can literally taste the emotions her mother had when making the cake. This won’t be the only time, either. Every time she tries to eat something, she can taste the emotion within the food, down to the feelings of the factory workers who packaged the food.

Rose can’t tell anyone about this, either, for fear of being the weird child. Her brother had been the golden child of the family, and while she and her brother had a good relationship, it’s her brother’s best friend George with whom she becomes close and spills her secret. George, the ever-Scientist, tests the theory of tasting emotions and it is through this that he and Rose develop a relationship — one that Rose can’t seem to develop with her own family.

If it sounds a bit Like Water for Chocolate to you, I promise it is an entirely different story. I’ve read LWfC but never once made the connection until a friend pointed it out to me.

Bender’s story is emotionally draining, despite the fact you are never once inside Rose’s perspective. Her story explores the deep secrets of families. We’re led to believe that Rose’s father is a normal person, but it is a secret that spills near the end of the novel that we find out Rose’s condition may actually be quite, well, ordinary in the context of the family. And we come to learn that Rose’s ability to taste emotion doesn’t work when she eats food she herself has made. Instead, she feels empty.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake is a literary work, ripe with rich language and metaphor. Rose’s emotional emptiness is a great exploration of the Edelstein family structure. The food in the novel itself is palpable. There is attention to every choice of word and language use, right down to the point that Bender chooses not to use quotations for dialog. This is conscious and makes complete sense in context of the characters and the story as a whole.

I am so excited that Random House chose to share galleys of this title. I think Bender is an under appreciated writer, and I think this particular story will have great appeal. I can see good book discussions about this title; despite being quite literary, it is a very easy read and quite quick, as well. According to the back of the galley, the final product will include a book discussion guide and will have significant outreach to book clubs.

While the book doesn’t release until June 15, 2010, I have a feeling there will be a lot of buzz about this title and every bit is well-deserved. These are strongly developed characters with a big of magical realism that is so characteristic of Bender’s style. The poetic language begs to be read over and over, too.

For those of you who haven’t read Bender or need something to tide you over, check out this selection of her short stories. I had been passed the link, but I didn’t realize that “Bull” is actually a sequel to “The Ring.” She’s well worth the investment of time and energy, though you will find yourself absolutely transported to strangely familiar worlds. Perhaps The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake will bring the attention deserved to such a different style of writing and writer. I won’t say it’s better than GitFS, but this is a great door opener to that collection and its follow up, Willful Creatures.