Just Jennifer

The Taste of Apple Seeds by Katharina Hagena (William Morrow, February 2014)

Translated from German The Taste of Apple Seeds tells the story of Iris who has inherited her grandmother’s country house, but along with it, all her family’s  memories and secrets, some painful enough to destroy lives that have been rebuilt over the past decade.  Iris is unsure whether she should keep the house or sell it and decides to stay in it for a week to put things in order and make her decision.  Bertha’s cottage has always had an enchanted quality to it, even after the death of Iris’s cousin Rosemarie: red currents since always grow white, but make the sweetest tasting pink tinged jelly; apple blossoms bloom off-season when true lovers stand beneath a tree and sparks fly from Iris’s aunt whenever she makes human contact.  As Iris revisits her family and their memories, she must make a choice whether she wants to inherit her family’s memories and pains and be the keeper of them or take a chance on giving up her past---and possible future---and return to the life she has crafted for herself.  A fairy tale quality to the narrative will endear Iris to readers and sparks a magical atmosphere.