Reflect on The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake 💙

May peace be upon all of you reading this post ✌✌✌

We've only recently finished covering the whole novel (I think), but the research for this novel (for me), wasn't as tedious as The Secret Life of Bees. It was fun and I loved it, because it provided open-ended questions for us to explore. Plus, the out-of-the-world scenes such as when Joseph were thought to disappear into a chair or Rose having actually 'tasted' her mum's sadness through batches of baked cookies forced our minds to work together and make sense of the things we usually consider nonsense.

This activity of making sense was actually mind-numbing, but it was nonetheless a new experience. I get to survive a novel with no quotation (a feat I never thought I'd do), extracting invisible themes from such abstract scenes and have a laugh about Joseph's chair-feet!

To those of you searching for a challenging book to read, a good confusion to unravel, a knot in your heart to twist some more and a family to understand, we hope The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake helps you in the journey.

ABOUT THE TREES (pg 322)

🌲🌳🌴🌵🌷🌸🌹🌼🌴🌳🌲

"There had been a report in the magazine. About a small island off the coast of central California where only a handful of people lived. At the rim of the island was an abundance of trees with a kind of stretchy, tasty bark, but the birds have taken over those trees and very few were surviving. One in particular fell over - an old elegant palm type, a beauty."

"It grew closest to the edge of the island, and despite its voracious roots, its enormous trunk, it was no match for the steady impact of beaks and thinner dirt and unprotected weather and the gopher holes that eroded its system below."

"Many trees in the second ring, up a little higher, had also been overtaken by animals, but some made it through-" "...and one of the trees in that area survived, reaching out sideways with tangled branches."

"Twenty yards in? The trees grew straight up. Plenty of room for elaborate roots. Birds alighted and flew off.  Gopher holes made no dents. The trees were strong, functional. They provided shade and oxygen."

- My thoughts; The island resembles Rose's heart. The trees nearest to the center of island are her parents. They are the strong ones; the people who make her who she is. They provided shelter and they gave birth to her; they serve as life lessons to Rose, who finally understood why the strength showcased and the weaknesses hidden are for their own good.

The trees in the second ring are her own abilities, to try and survive the real world. She has discovered how to live with her 'ability', step by step.

The trees closest to the edge was herself, as a child. She was, is, a beauty, but she was also a wreck. Rose was unable to understand her 'abilities' which led her to misunderstood herself. That part of her has fallen and replaced by the stronger trees nearer to the center :)

Regarding the last line of the novel, hmm ...

"Was it so different than the choice of a card-table chair, except my choice meant I could stay in the world and his didn't?"

Rose's way to handle her 'abilities' still enables her to live in the real world, and make contact with real people. She feels the emotions of people cooking her food. But if she wants to get away from that, she has alternatives; such as eating junk food, which is made by machines.

But Joseph, Rose's brother, we weren't quite clear on what his 'ability' is, but it surely didn't help Joseph in social relations. From his refusal to touch people incessantly, Joseph may get too connected to the object or person he touches. Since human are very complex in their thoughts and feelings, no matter whether they are normal or have Asperger's or Down's syndrome, the contents could overwhelm Joseph. In the case of a card-table chair, the people playing cards often play to win. So they must have hope. In that hope, Joseph finds solace. Maybe. Correct me if I make too little sense.

Love,
💥 Nadya.

Adios Lemons 🍋

Hello everyone! Hope you're all doing fine. Just got back from the TOK camp and it was fun! (and brain wrecking at the same time 😅 ). So I guess this will be my last entry on the novel 'The Particular Sadness Of Lemon Cake so it's time for some reflection!

Personally I really like this book. Even though it's a fantasy book, I think it's just the writer's way of portraying the message of communication breakdown in a family. And it's also very sad! Especially the last chapter omg 😭. And in this last chapter the author mentioned something about trees, and I think that she is trying to refer to life and how every one has their own way of adapting with them. Some may be blessed with never ending happiness while others are filled with struggles. But despite that, we all have our own ways of adjusting with it and in Rose's family's case they have their own special abilities to help them get through their every day miseries. Idk, what do you guys think?

The novel ends with a sentence with a very deep meaning (well, to me at least haha).

"Was it so different than the choice of a card-table chair, except my choice meant I could stay in the world and his didn't?"

I think Rose meant to say that even though her special abilities meant that she had to live with the thought of other's feelings, at least she still is in the 'real world' unlike Joseph who gets detached from reality. Idk if Joseph is considered selfish in this case, but the fact that he chose to remain as a chair was just heart-breaking for me. Was the burden of the world too hard for him to handle to the point that that was the only thing he could do. I wonder how it feels though hahaha.

This was the first novel I read that didn't have the inverted commas in the dialogues which I found quite bothering at first but got used to it I guess. The thing I like most about this novel is the way the author portrays such a meaningful message - through fantasy-like metaphors. I think all of the special abilities had their own hidden meanings, like maybe someone in Rose's situation in real life would wish to be able to read other people's feelings, etc. However, maybe I think some things should be clarified for example, what was the father's special abilities and the connection of the family with grandma perhaps. But overall, I would rate this book 7/10 and would recommend it to those who are open to unanswered questions while reading.

So I guess that's all I have to say in this last entry of mine. I hope you've enjoyed reading my entries so far and feel free to comment! Till we meet again 😄

The final chapter 💔

The Very last Chapter

Hey guys! It’s been awhile. I think my last blog was when I became Plato. So how are you guys doing? I hope you are doing fine and keeping that smile of yours.

What does the last image about the trees have to do with Rose and her family?

I’ve read a lot of blogs and I found out that people have different opinion towards the image of trees described in this novel. For me, the tree somewhat represent the symbol of survival. The author does mention how one of the trees that survived. The tree also represents Rose which is the main character in this novel where she had to face the environment.

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In the beginning of the book, the author shows how happy Rose is with her family and the people surrounding her. However, you can’t have all the rainbows in your life. She suffered a change in environment when she began to discover her talent or powers. Things began to get worst for Rose which depicts how the tree is trying to survive in this wild environment. As time passed, Rose slowly began to appreciate her ability and uses it as a mean to taste the quality of the food. Rose who represents the last tree, manages to overcome her problems and survive the environment which allows her to survive.

How do you interpret the last line of the novel?

The last line of the novel was ‘’Was it so different than the choice of a card-table chair, except my choice meant I could stay in the world and he didn’t?

I think that the last line shows how Rose compare herself with her brother. She always have this mindset where both of them are different but she finally realizes how both of them are actually similar but the choice that she made was different than  her brother where she decides to stay while her brother goes away.

What did you like (and dislike) most about the Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake? and would you recommend it to someone?

To be fair, I didn’t enjoy reading the book unlike the previous book that we read which is The secret life of Bees. There were a lot of flashbacks which makes the timeline a bit confusing. In addition, when Joseph became a chair, I was very very confused, I don’t even know how to react, I was like REALLY?? out of all the ability, the author decides to give him the ability to turn into a chair. There were a lot of conflicts in this book. I had to read the synopsis to fully understand the timeline of the novel.

So yea guys I hope you enjoy my post. Feel free to comment J and please  be nice J.

Final chapter 💗

Hey guys! I hope everyone is doing fine. Sorry for posting this entry a bit late. It's 4 35 in the morning. I had a bad headache yesterday that I had to sleep at 9 pm and managed to wake up at 2 30 am (thank god, I thought I won't be able to wake up at all to do my homework 😓) Okay, so in this entry I will be commenting on the final chapter of the novel The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake.

What does the last image about the trees have to do with Rose and her family?

From my opinion, the author was trying to say that one's condition is affected by its environment. Despite having voracious roots and enormous trunk, the trees at the rim of the island was unable to survive as the gopher holes eroded the root system, the unprotected weather and the thinner dirt surrounding it. These trees is no match for its surrounding, therefore it ended up into the ocean. Meanwhile, the trees twenty yards in was growing straight up, provided with shade and oxygen. There was plenty of room for elaborate roots and gopher holes made no dents. This environment was the best for the tree, which finally shaped the tree into a strong, functional tree. Same goes to Rose's family, Joseph was having a hard time coping with his ability. I think he would deal with his ability better if he had an understanding mum and a more friendly dad. Rose was lucky that she was able to 'survive' even though she once threw a fit to remove her mouth. At the end of the story, she was beginning to learn to use her ability to improve her own life as well as those of others.

How do you interpret the last line of the novel?

The last line of the novel was "Was it so different than the choice of a card-table chair, except my choice meant I could stay in the world and he didn't?" . At first, I was confused and was unable to understand the meaning of the line. However, after re-reading the last chapter, I think that the last line was indicating that Rose finally realized that her brother was not very different from her, when all through her life, she believed they were complete opposite.

What did you like (and dislike) most about the Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake? and would you recommend it to someone?

To be very honest, I didn't enjoy reading the book. I was confused and depressed almost the whole time reading it. The whole scene of the Joseph and the chair was very confusing and was not explained well. I was like "Did he cut his leg? Or did he put the chair legs into his pants? What is he doing?!"

I had to re-read the scene again and again to understand it and finally did when I decided to googled it up on the internet. Fuhhh 😥 His ability is not cool 😞 I was expecting for a more interesting ability, maybe time traveling? lol 😅 It was depressing enough when the whole family was having problems but decided to keep it to themselves. Ughhh communication issue 😫 Overall, the book was okay but  I don't think I would recommend it to my friends 😅

That's the end of my entry on the final chapter of the novel. I know some people will object what I wrote 👀, so please feel free to comment below 👇

You can be a tree if you're strong enough..

Hye everyone!!!😆
How are you? Feeling good?
It's been a long time since I'm not posting or writing any blog. Actually this is my last entry for this semester before I'm sitting the semester exam. I know that this is a very sad news but I need time to prepare for my examination. Therefore, I hope all of you can be in my shoe.

I will be answering some questions that related to The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake today. So... Let's get started.

1. What does the last image about the trees have to do with Rose and her family?
Everyone has their opinion toward the image of trees in this novel including me. For me, the tree is a symbol of survival.
"..., and one of the trees in that are survived,..."
Even though this sentence is only a personification but it brings a meaningful thought to me. Rose is a tree🌳 in this novel. She is surrounded by balance sun🌞 and shade😎 which is a good environment, happy family (maybe) and love from everyone. However, everything start to change when the tree is overtaken by the animal? What is the animal in this context? The animal is Rose's ability. The ability conquered her life and also her mind. Her ability also brought her to the truth and reality. When she is young, she got to know that her mom is having affair with someone that she don't even know. She started to become stress when she can't forget the taste of guilty, romance and lonely. Rose even tried to remove her mouth from her body. But, when time passed, Rose become more mature than before. She starts to appreciate her ability and uses it in a proper way such as tasting the goodness and badness of the foods around her. Finally, she becomes the tree that is survived in the environment and reaching out sideways with tangled branched. Rose success in her life because of her strength in facing every problem and challenge in her life.

2. How do you interpret the last line of the novel?
"Was it so different than the choice of a card-table chair, except my choice meant I could stay in this world and his didn't?"
In my opinion, this line show how Rose try to understand Joe's choice. Rose even try to compare the benefit that she get from her ability to Joe's.
Her ability helps her to enjoy her life and experiences lots of different feelings of foods🍲😋🥘. However, Joe is tormented by his own ability and ends up on a hospital bed🏥 because of over dehydration.

3. What did you like (and dislike) most about the Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake? and would you recommend it to someone?

I love this novel because the author used a right way to portray the sadness of a girl while facing different type of problems and challenges in her life. Even though the novel was hard at first to understand and I must read it again and again but it managed to attract my attention to read more and become more curious about the plots. Besides, the author also displayed a lot of social criticism that are experienced by people nowadays such as betraying and disloyal. So, I wouldn't recommend this to my friends because it was too complicated and hard to understand😥.

That's all from me for this semester. See you again on next semester. Wish me luck ya!!😍

Chapter 47 🌝

Hello everyone. I'll be answering a few questions on the last chapter of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake today. 

1. What does the last image of the trees have to do with Rose and her family?

Tbh I have no clue. But I guess, if it were to be in reference to Rose's family, it would probably symbolize her family members, though I can't really put my finger on what portrays whom. Rose's description included 3 different groups of trees and how they're affected by the environment around them. 
Lol I'm just making things up as I go at this point but I think the trees that grew closest to the edge of the island represent both Joseph and Paul. I feel like the natural biotic factors that test the trees symbolize their powers and how much it has impacted their lives and the condition of the tree eventually falling into the ocean implies the after-math of how they've handled their powers. 
Joseph has the ability to transform and be physically absorbed in furniture. And because he is an introvert by nature, he dwelled into his powers too much and made it his haven to escape from reality. This has caused him and his family a lot of pain and because he chose this path, you can see how hard it is, for him especially, to live a life of normalcy. Hes become too accustomed to this that he has 'fallen into the ocean' and is complacent in this way. 

Paul, on the other hand, is too scared to explore his gift. He actively avoids it and this has made him a 'safe' person. Although he is happy to live in oblivion, you can't deny how much this has affected him. So many of his family members have been admitted in the hospital and he still refuses to enter. Sure, he anxiously waits in the parking lot and calls his specialist friends for help but he still wasn't there. He has conformed to his fear of the unknown and has too, 'fallen into the ocean'. 

I don't like Paul's character. He reminds me of Charles Bovary.

2. How do you interpret the last line of the novel?

"Was it so different than the choice of a card-table chair, except my choice meant I could stay in this world and his didn't?"

Ok I've been wondering this since the first time I read this line cos man, this is deep. I feel like this line was meant to show how Rose tried to rationalize her brother's choices. Since this chapter focuses on the dynamic of Joseph and Rose's relationship and how they've came to somewhat a mutual understanding towards the end of the novel, Rose paralleled her situation with Joseph's by comparing how much she could benefit from her gift and how Joseph benefited from his. 
Rose, who got so used to processed snacks and food, eventually took it as something enjoyable, and something she can still enjoy up till now. She also questioned how different this is from Joseph, who was also in such comfort by using his powers to be alone, chose to stay that way, because he too, takes it as something 'enjoyable'. 
So although Joseph's choices has lead him to end up on a hospital bed, Rose has reason to relate to this because in her mind, they're not quite different after all. 

3. What did you like and dislike most about the Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake? 

I love the subtlety of how the author portrays sadness, fear and joy in this novel. Though it was hard at first to understand given that there are none of these "" to indicate a dialogue, I thought it was a smart detail to show that the story was told from the POV of a 9 year old girl. I wouldn't recommend this to my less patient friends hahah but for those who would like insight of what it feels like to live in a world of detachment from a number of different views, best give this one a read. 

Ulalalalala 😇😅

Hi everyone!
This post gonna be short and simple as to complete the task that Ms. Shereen gave to the class.
But wait, how's life going on?
Mine is as usual, going hard but I'm still staying strong.
TOK camp was lit! Dont you think so?
New friends, new experience, new thougths. I must say that I'm finally using my brain to work critically. 😁

So here's the answer to all the questions of the given task :
The image of the trees related to Rose's family is where it shows the strength of the relationships among the family members despite their hardships on coping with their own special capabilities. I think its because of the power of love among themselves what brought them together and complete each other eventhough there are a lot of tragic moments that happened.

About my interpretation on the last line of the novel, I think Rose is confuse and ponder was it so different between her choosing the vending machine to cope with her capabilities and Joseph's choice on the card-table chair and the chance of to live in the world and to not live in the world? Rose really love her brother even though they rarely have time for each other. Rose analyze that her brother's life is tougher than her life that he have to be in a different world that he didnt even feel the passage of time, the hunger or whatever a real world having. She questioned how hard is his brother's life that so different with hers and how would one measure whether she or he deserves to live?

What I like about the particular sadness of lemon cake is how creative Aimee Bender building up those character with speciality each. I guess thats what means by talent. Another thing that I like is how actually Aimee Bender inserted the valuable of friendship not just to the individual but to the family of the individual too where you can see that George is just not a friend to Joseph but also keen to help Rose whenever she need ❤️

Thats all from me. Oh yeah anw, the title is actually doesnt mean anything, its just how me and my teammates showing our excitement during the TOK camp 😊 Sorry if its annoyed you 😅 I'm just showing my excitement on writing this post 😁

Bye!!!