I mean, I am totally flabbergasted and bewildered as i read the last page of this novel. It is seldom that i bother finishing a book when it starts off "weird". There is too little time in life to waste on books that are just "not my cup of tea.", others can go ahead and read them but hey, I have an ocean of other books to read. But this book drew me in with first, an intriguing title and a subject matter that i have an interest in, food! (see my previous posts)
The blurb on the book sounded interesting enough and for the first few chapters, i was totally drawn in by the character, Rose, who at nine years old, discovered she has a gift, or rather a curse, of being able to discern the feelings and emotions of the person who cooked the dish. She was able to taste the loneliness of her mother who was emotionally detached from her husband, the sadness and hollowness of her marriage. So much so that young Rose started to fear eating home-cooked foods, as she didn't want to sense the sadness, the bitterness and subsequent illicit affair of her mother.
So far so good? Well, good enough for me to continue to read at obsessive speed, picking up sub-plots of a disappearing brother (what is that all about?!), developing a crush with a childhood friend, and a more interestingly, her ability to pinpoint where and how the food was brought to being! She knew where the milk came from, how the flour was milled, no minute detail was spared!!
I knew that as the book progressed, i was either going to be presented with a "smack your forehead" moment or an extremely satisfying conclusion to the whole story. In case anyone of you is interested to pick up this book, i will not spoil it for you by giving you any more spoilers but i assure you, this is a non-typical book and the author certainly has an astonishing imagination which really raises my eyebrows rather than in awe.
The revelation that came out of this reading is that there are all sorts of writers out there. You can write a run-of-the-mill story or you can write out-of-the-world hysterical one or simply, one that interlaces incredulity with reality. A book that makes you think and wonder long beyond the pages of the book, if you let it, to stretch your imagination, the limits of what can be, what is real and what is surreal.
Oh dear, i think i have been affected by the book so much that i have written a similarly "weird" review! Forgive my ramblings, it IS quite a mixed-up afterthought. I am glad I am done reading this book, probably will not pick up another book by the same author (too avant garde for me! I just want to space out and relax with a simpler book.) BUT, i am happy that i came across this book, for all its twists and turns, it was like a surprise box, you never knew what you would get, until the very end. And in life, surprises are always a gift in itself! Do share your comments if you have any. Thanks in advance!
Jen
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