Friday 17 April 2020

Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler


“I had left Park Bar at three thirty a.m. right when the cooks were getting another round of Jägermeister shots. I had taken one and thought I might throw up on the floor. Instead I threw myself into a cab and threw up in my own toilet like an adult. I was proud of myself.”

When I bought this book, I had heard it was to be made into a tv series. Naturally I wanted to read it first. Even more usually, for me, its been sitting in that big ole pile of books for me to read for so long that the show has already aired. Thankfully for streaming I can compare the two works later. COVID-19 times have got me back into the reading fold and what better time for a novel about restaurants and wine, glorious wine, than these iso-days. Pause, insert hiccup here for effect.

Having read Kitchen Confidential, last year, they almost seem like companion pieces with different gender perspectives. The cracking pace and other worldly timing of working in a restaurant — where sleep is for the weak — makes for compelling drama. Throw in sex, drugs, alcohol and sensation seekers, well of course its going to be interesting.

Young Tess moves to NYC after working in a coffee shop as a ‘barista’ with an English degree (lady how I relate, getting your first job with an English degree is dire), and lands a job at a famous Union Square restaurant. This book reminded me of a night out in New York where we my friends and I met the chef from another famous Union Square restaurant at about 3am, along with some other entertaining characters — does everyone just miss bar hopping now?? Back to the book though, our protagonist is innocent to restaurant life and life in general. Tastes, sensations and tribulations abound, and I was swept up in the chaos. The change in her life is palpable.

You can almost taste the wine and smell the food here. Similarly, you can feel the grime, lack of sleep and tendency for poor decision making (yes, I recall my twenties… vaguely). Danler’s style is impressive, and the characters are all fascinating drawn. This book will have you reminiscing of your wild youth (if you had one) or vicariously thrilling in someone else’s (if you didn’t). 

5 out of 5 – ending this was bitter sweet, definitely one to ‘pick up’.

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