Alice's Review: The Taste of Apple Seeds

Author: Katharina Hagena
Series: No
Publication Date: February 4, 2014
Publisher: William Morrow and Company
Pages: 256
Obtained: Publisher
Genre: Literary Fiction
Rating: 4 
Bottom Line:  Whimsical & romantic with a touch of scandal.
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Summary:  When Iris unexpectedly inherits her grandmother's house in the country, she also inherits the painful memories that live there. Iris gives herself a one-week stay at the old house, after which she'll make a decision: keep it or sell it. The choice is not so simple, though, for her grandmother's cottage is an enchanting place, where currant jam tastes of tears, sparks fly from fingertips, love's embrace makes apple trees blossom, and the darkest family secrets never stay buried. . . .~Powells.com

Review:  The best way to describe this novel is this:

You recently met a woman. She is funny, witty. You are drawn to her. She invites you over for tea and you go because you can’t wait to find out more about her. She pours you a cuppa and as you settle in for your first sip, she begins to tell you about herself. Only it’s not the basic “favorite color” nonsense, it’s the juicy, nitty gritty stuff. She reveals this to you because she is comfortable with her past and with her family's past. She is not ashamed to tell you because she knows she is interesting and her family is interesting. She is proud of what she came from. She doesn’t mind that soon you will be gossiping to your friends about them either. She knows that secretly you will wish for that life instead of the boring one you have. You enjoy every single second you spend with her.

That is how I feel about The Taste of Apple Seeds. It’s a relatively simple story about a young woman who inherits her grandmother’s house upon her death and spends a few days there reminiscing and deciding whether or not to keep the house. What ensues is a slightly whimsical and romantic tale with a little scandal thrown in there too.

The Taste of Apple Seeds is my favorite kind of book, a book for the soul. It satisfies the heart with juicy bits of morsels. Some I wish I could share with you but as I received an ARC I am unable too. It also satisfies that nosey body in us where we get great satisfaction in learning the scandal and secrets of someone else's family. Some secrets were heartbreaking, others laughable. These secrets are told be a reserved young woman named Iris.

I loved Iris. She was odd and awkward and bold. She had a crazy fashion sense and a tendency to swim in the nude and stalking unsuspecting men. I know these are curious facts to share but these very things add to the Tao that is Iris. She truly was fabulous.

The Taste of Apple Seeds didn’t lose anything in the translation from German to English, although I had to keep reminding myself if Frau references a man or a woman. Overall I enjoyed this novel. It was funny and very interesting but not quite a five for me.
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