Sweetbitter, Stephanie Danler
Publication: May 24th 2016 by Knopf
Hardcover, 368 pages
Source: ARC gifted from a friend
“Let’s say I was born when I came over the George Washington Bridge…”
This is how we meet unforgettable Tess, the twenty-two-year-old at the heart of this stunning first novel. Shot from a mundane, provincial past, she’s come to New York to look for a life she can’t define, except as a burning drive to become someone, to belong somewhere. After she stumbles into a coveted job at a renowned Union Square restaurant, we spend the year with her as she learns the chaotic, punishing, privileged life of a “backwaiter,” on duty and off. Her appetites—for food, wine, knowledge, and every kind of experience—are awakened. And she’s pulled into the magnetic thrall of two other servers—a handsome bartender she falls hard for, and an older woman she latches onto with an orphan’s ardor.
These two and their enigmatic connection to each other will prove to be Tess’s hardest lesson of all. Sweetbitter is a story of discovery, enchantment, and the power of what remains after disillusionment.
I think this is my favorite read of 2016 so far. I don’t think I’m ever going to feel the same way dining out at a nice restaurant. Tess leaves her childhood home and her life as she’s known it behind at 22 and heads to New York to find her adult path. She almost never looks back. She lucks into an apartment to share and a job at an unnamed restaurant in Union Square where she’s hired as a backwaiter. The training, the hazing, the bar towels, the wine, the food, the semi-incestuous staff relationships, the management, the FOOD, the drugs. So many things are going on in a restaurant and I had no idea!
Tess navigates new friendships and toxic relationships with the bravado and bluster every 22 year-old should have. She’s brave and she’s thoughtless and I just loved her story. The writing is intense and enthralling. I loved the slips into stream of consciousness as Tess lived out her days at the restaurant.
Once you admit you want things to taste like more or better versions of themselves – once you commit to flavor as your god – the rest follows. I started adding salt to everything. My tongue grew calloused, abraded, overworked. You want the fish to taste like fish, but fish times a thousand. Times a million. Fish on crack. I was lucky I never tried crack.
Read this with a glass of wine – skip the crack. Then come talk to me about it! I’m going to be reading this again soon and then hoping to be out at a great restaurant watching the staff.
Have this on hold at the library and can’t wait to read it – seems like everyone is loving it!
Excellent! I hope you love it too!
I’m so so excited to start this! Downloaded it this morning and will read it as soon as I finish Girls on Fire. Hopefully in the next few days. Love that quote and it’s SO true!
I can’t wait to hear what you think! I really need to review Girls on Fire too – will look forward to your post on that!
This sounds fascinating–especially as someone who often passes a lot of those fancy Union Square restaurants.
Perfect! You can read it and peak through the windows and imagine it all.
I’ve seen this around but this is the first review I’ve seen of it. It sounds absolutely fantastic and I love that it’s one of your favorites for the year. I’ll definitely have to get my hands on it. Great review!
Somehow this book totally escaped my notice, and now all of a sudden everyone is talking about it! Looks like I need to put it on hold at my library 🙂
I have this on hold too and am afraid I will never get it.
I am intrigued
I have been seeing this everywhere lately. You have me intrigued by your review too. It might be making its way into my online shopping cart soon…
Huh, interesting. I would not necessarily have picked this up based on the jacket copy alone, but you’re making it sound so excellent! And I do love reading books about what it’s like to have jobs that are not my job.
Heard a interview from the author on MPR it was interesting. Have yet to read it. Do you review other types of books besides novels?