To me, they do. I don't mean the usual perception whether a story is good or bad. It goes beyond that. What I believe in is a story has its unique identity like the underlying notes a perfume gives off, or the flavors left on my taste buds as I'm relishing a scrumptious cannoli. Stories, as the saying goes, are food for thought.
My favorite stories are ones which leave some wonderful aftertastes long after I've put down the books they came from. My preferred ones are those evoking certain tastes the first time I read them, and different ones on my next visit. Take To Kill A Mockingbird as an example. This is my all time favorite! I read the book as a teenager and I can still remember it made me feel like I'd eaten cotton candy. Therefore I associated sweet and sugary to the story. Years later, I picked up the book again. Lo and behold, it was not sweet and sugary anymore to my taste buds! I felt the briny and sour punch of a pickle, the sweetness and a slight bitter edge of caramel. The book, without doubt, is magical to me.
I too have pondered on the aftertaste of the books I've devoured of late. Lucia, Lucia by Adriana Trigiani makes me recall an Italian pear tart from an ancient recipe. It's sweet without being cloying, and its barely there saltiness makes me feel nostalgic. Train to Trieste by Domnica Radulescu is like truffle to me. It's earthy, velvety to my palate and homey, and I knew from the first few pages of the book, it's a rare gem - hard to find, just like a truffle!
I did the same taste test on my books too. My first novel, Rice, Fish, Squid and Lamb, was written to address my hurt locker. Naturally, the main sense I get as I reread the book is its bitterness. The second most dominant taste is saltiness which I always associate with nostalgia. Thankfully, bursts of sweetness intersperse these two main flavors.
My second book, Blind, Deaf, which I plan for publication this year, came about because of guilt. What does the story taste like? To me, it's mainly sweet and salty. But then, tastes are relative. Read excerpts from my book (I'll be updating this site with the first few chapters from Blind, Deaf in the next few weeks!), and tell me what you think!
I too have pondered on the aftertaste of the books I've devoured of late. Lucia, Lucia by Adriana Trigiani makes me recall an Italian pear tart from an ancient recipe. It's sweet without being cloying, and its barely there saltiness makes me feel nostalgic. Train to Trieste by Domnica Radulescu is like truffle to me. It's earthy, velvety to my palate and homey, and I knew from the first few pages of the book, it's a rare gem - hard to find, just like a truffle!
I did the same taste test on my books too. My first novel, Rice, Fish, Squid and Lamb, was written to address my hurt locker. Naturally, the main sense I get as I reread the book is its bitterness. The second most dominant taste is saltiness which I always associate with nostalgia. Thankfully, bursts of sweetness intersperse these two main flavors.
My second book, Blind, Deaf, which I plan for publication this year, came about because of guilt. What does the story taste like? To me, it's mainly sweet and salty. But then, tastes are relative. Read excerpts from my book (I'll be updating this site with the first few chapters from Blind, Deaf in the next few weeks!), and tell me what you think!
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