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Rose discovers a secret affair that her mother is having, supposedly via clues in her food. Oh, and just to complicate the plot, Rose's brother has an even more unusual superhuman skill, making this family seem like a version of The Incredibles.
What starts out as a quirky and promising premise, rather disintegrates by the end of the novel, in my humble opinion. I read until the end trying to discover the revelation of why this family was so extraordinary, what was the key to their existence, and while the author tries to establish a genetic link through the grandfather and father, it just didn't gel. Read it, if only to find out why Rose keeps a card table chair in her storage area at work. You will honestly never guess why unless you read the book.
Oh, and to whet your appetite for the prose that is in store, here are two excerpts: "He held that glass of water in his hand, unsipped, which only served to reflect the room back to him, cylindrically." ...and, "Monsieur cocked his head. Late-morning wake-up lines still radiated from his eye corners." I don't mean to "dis" this book too much, but the prose is a little clunky at times. Maybe Aimee Bender's next novel will be the one to read. Lemon Cake shows promise, but it wasn't a home run for me. You probably won't stay up late reading this novel, so there will be no risk of late-morning wake-up lines radiating from your eye corners! Which might be a good thing.
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