Today is a day of great sadness in the world of literature. Although I did not have the opportunity to personally know Amy Bender, her writing deeply affected my emotions. The news of her sudden death was incredibly shocking and left me feeling overwhelmed with sorrow. In her novel, The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, she expertly depicted the power of our feelings. At her memorial service, I saw those who were lucky enough to be part of her daily life. As a young individual, I used food as a way to cope with my emotions.
I initially couldn’t understand the lack of a link until I read her book. But indulging in delicious food offered me a way to escape my own life. Reading her obituary and going to her funeral made me feel embarrassed for her. The speakers at the service didn’t properly acknowledge her achievements, as seen from their words. They didn’t mention her successes in leading a writing workshop or receiving awards. Instead, they chose to share stories about her childhood and short tales in an attempt to shed some light on the issue.
None did her justice. In my mind, she was one of the greatest writers of all time and these stories were not meeting my expectations. I went home and wrote my own paper to hand deliver to her grave the following day where she lay alone, next to an empty plot intended for her widower.
BENDER, AIMEE Beloved daughter and sister of 2 passed away on October 10, 2012. She was born on June 28, 1969 in California. Aimee taught creative writing at The University of Southern California.
Aimee Bender earned her undergraduate degree from the University of California at San Diego and a Master of Fine Arts from the renowned creative writing MFA program at the University of California at Irvine. She resided in Los Angeles, California. Aimee Bender has authored four books, leaving behind numerous colleagues, friends, and students who will deeply miss her. The visitation is scheduled for Sunday, October 14, 2012, from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. at Chaney-Bryant Funeral Director’s.
The memorial service will be held at 2:00 pm on Monday, October 15, 2012 at the Chaney-Bryant Funeral Director’s Cascade Chapel. Food serves as a means to unite people, whether it’s a humble spaghetti dinner enjoyed with family or a grand holiday feast shared with extended relatives. Even a simple act of sharing Oreos with a friend or presenting a heart-shaped box of chocolates to a loved one carries significance and serves as a form of communication.
Both The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake and All Seven Deadly Sins Committed at Church Bake Sale delve into the primal emotions experienced during the human ritual of eating. It becomes evident that not every meal offers the desired comfort, and the quest for nourishment can ultimately result in starvation due to insincerity. Aimee Bender’s works possess a much deeper meaning than the article published by The Onion. While Bender utilizes food imagery to understand her characters’ personalities, The Onion portrays food as a motivation for competition and societal advancement, disregarding the original purpose of fundraising.
Food is a carrier of emotions, according to Bender herself. She stated, “I consider food a way to show care and affection towards others. When I prepare a nice meal, it is a form of communication and a desire to please and delight the other person.” She also acknowledges that when she is in a rush or distracted, the experience is different and may lead to accidents or impatience. (Parker) Both stories are told in the first-person narrative, but Rose’s perspective in The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake is particularly interesting because it allows her to understand the baker’s emotions.
The use of a first person narrative can make it challenging to comprehend the emotions of other characters. Despite frequently experiencing sadness or hostility, the narrator is unable to appreciate her gift. However, it does provide her with an opportunity to perceive people as they truly are. She is compelled to accept those in her vicinity while enduring their culinary creations. In the fictional news article “All Seven Deadly Sins Committed at Church Bake Sale,” the newsman presents his own interpretations of the bakers, relying on their spoken words rather than their food.
Although his interpretations are on a macro level, one might perceive this as a more honest opinion. However, despite their outward signs of gluttony, wrath, and pride, you must question his accurate description of their feelings. He does not have the intuition that Rose carries with her. Moreover, it seems that he does not have the intention to accept these people and judges them very harshly, creating a sort of hypocrisy. On the other hand, Rose wants to love and understand her family to the point where it makes her ill. Therefore, it is difficult to understand why Rose failed to develop her skill to her advantage sooner.
She seems to dwell on negative emotions frequently. Just like the news reporter at the Bake Sale, he also delves into these feelings but doesn’t have to confront this situation regularly. The thought of Rose attending the church bake sale might cause one to be alarmed! This is an environment she would avoid vehemently. Even though she may not come across as many instances of bad behavior, she may very well experience the anger and jealousy present in Georgia Brandt’s Blondies. However, her keen perception would likely detect Ms. Brandt’s desire for admiration and acceptance, a strong desire to “fit in” at church events.
Rose appears disillusioned and perceives her parents’ emotions as indications of a monotonous suburban environment. By embracing local tastes regardless of their source in agriculture or industry, Bender reveals that our diverse society has deteriorated into an overflowing vessel of excessively manufactured waste. Initially, from Rose’s youthful viewpoint, this concept eludes her comprehension, yet with time, she begins to comprehend it. She is compelled to acknowledge the apathy felt by everyone around her, and it is only towards the end that she discovers the means to manage it by exploring different dining establishments.
Although my reflections on Aimee Bender may be fictional, they illustrate her ability to profoundly impact individuals through her profound comprehension of emotions and a young girl’s journey to comprehend not only her own feelings but also those of others. Just like The Onion’s article, food serves as a means to convey a narrative of intense emotions and sentiments. It is the one aspect that binds us all together – the ability to sit together, eat, and contemplate our thoughts.
Works Cited
Bender, Amy. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. Double Day: New York, 2010.
http://www.lammableskirt.com/newbook.html.
A Kind of Flag Planting. Layden, Sarah. Guernica. Ed. Michael Archer. 15 Nov 2000.
http://www.guernicamag.com/interviews/bender_11_15_10/.
The Onion. “All Seven Deadly Sins Committed at Church Bake Sale.” 2007.
Back to the Lake. Ed. Thomas Cooley. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 2012. 190-92. Print.
Surreal Meals: An Interview with Aimee Bender.Parker, Allison.Leite’sCulinaria.com.
14 Oct 2010.http://leitesculinaria.com/55819/writings-aimee-bender-interview.html
