forlorn fiction

want to read the most depressing book ever?  its an award winner!  [for literary works ..not happy-mood-killingness] click cover for link. 

here is my brief synopsis:

two complete misfits, alice and mattia, have unbearably traumatic childhoods.  dysfunctional parents and cruel schoolmates add to their unfortunate neurosis.  in a romeo + julietesque tragedy, they seem destined for solitude [hence the title] and future failures.

will they ever get their shit together?  um.. i didnt deem it "most depressing book ever" for no reason.  another book i read recently was not quite as depressing... but its no disney classic either.

rose, the protagonist, finds she can taste emotions in food.  this "talent" eventually progresses to the point where she can pinpoint where each ingredient was sourced and what the working conditions were like.  she also finds her mother and brother are harboring dark secrets.

i cant say that i totally understand the end of the book.. but damn its bleak.

[images from amazon]