This is lyrical book. It's more than just a story of a girl, it's an unabashed look into her very soul.The book is divided into two parts. In the first, the protagonist, Linda shares how she is different from the rest of the world on the inside - because she is a synesthete who tastes certain words when spoken / heard. The second part of the book held a real surprise for me. In it Linda shares how she is different from the rest of her world on the outside too. And this subtle juxtaposition between the two parts of the novel enthralled me.The book is filled with very incisive remarks on human nature such as:"I didn’t need another word, and he, being a boy, didn’t know that words were necessary";There are beautiful metaphors like :“Don’t tell anyone.” She was including herself. That was when I first understood that anyone was a big movie theater of a word with the lights turned down low. You never knew who was sitting inside.The frequent allusions to fairy tales, to the lives of Cinderella, Snow White, Beauty and what the real morals of those stories actually could be was charming.Essentially, this is a poem written in prose. A wonderful, beautiful poem that had me riveted, invested and turning pages, with a very inspiring message (in the words of George Moses): “Rise up, my soul, and let us go.” Loved Uncle Baby, was surprised to find out Linda was Asian (might have helped inform her relationship with her mom if I'd known earlier), found Dad's backstory a bit shaky, and enjoyed discovering her synaesthesia along with her, very interesting, didn't know it existed. Sorry to say, but found reading thru/past the italics to be tedious, even though I get that it gave the reader a good sense of what it's like to live with the condition.
What do You think about Bitter In The Mouth (2010)?
B O R I N G !!!!! Should have just put it down, but kept waiting for it to get better.
—peenu
I liked this work generally but felt she tried o take on too many issues in one novel.
—Aya_Delore
I liked the big reveal halfway through this book and the complicated characters.
—aniskadee
