Sweetbitter (Vintage Contemporaries)

I loved this book, really loved it, but it isn't for everybody. Unfortunately, there are many negative reviews by readers who never should have read or tried to read this book, and it is the fault of the publisher. In boldface on the Amazon page: "A thrilling novel of the senses...Perfect for readers of Kitchen Confidential and Blood, Bones and Butter." Ummm, no. This book is nothing at all like those books - if anything, it is more closely related to Salinger's Catcher in the Rye.What this book is not:It is not an inside look into the secrets of Union Square Cafe, one of Manhattan's top restaurants. The protagonist isn't ever in the kitchen. Also, it is not a "small-town girl struggles with the big city but stays true to herself so she can conquer her career and get the dreamy guy" book. It is definitely not a beach read.What this book is:An exceptionally well-written story of a smart but very troubled woman struggling to establish a life and make personal connections, and mostly failing. She comes of age the hard way, taking her lumps brought on by bad decisions and a toxic environment. She lacks the family support many take for granted, and her loneliness is expressed on almost every page. The pain and dysfunction are so intimately rendered, I would be shocked if the author didn't live much of it herself.Some reviewers have criticized the lack of development of supporting characters, notably the love interest, Jake. This may be a valid critique, but I am going to argue that this may by intentional by the author. A central struggle in this book is the narrator's inability to form true, enduring interpersonal connections that extend beyond the moment, despite her desperation to do just that. The secondary characters are seen through the narrator's eyes, she never gets to see their hidden selves. The aren't well developed because they never let her in.Some reviewers have also complained that there are no likable characters. If you need a hero protagonist who does always the right thing, this is not the book for you - this a grown-up book with realistic people, who (gasp!) make bad decisions. There are multiple accounts of drug use and sex, and if reading about that upsets you, then this won't be for you. But this is not a book about drugs or sex, and both appear realistically, not gratuitously.Not every book is for every person. I loved this book, and will be thinking about it for a long time.

The NY Times gave this novel, which is about a young woman moving to New York and working as a backwaiter in an upscale restaurant, a more competent review than I ever could and I agreed with it. I liked it very much despite my lack of knowledge about food and wine. I know nothing about either and have no interest in learning. I eat just to stay alive and I'll often make myself the same meal for many months at a time. I learned a little about food from reading it—like the difference between East Coast and West Coast oysters—but most of the food stuff went over my head.No matter. Danler writes as well about being a new New Yorker, among other things, as any generation has. Here's her description of walking through a city park: Dreadlocked men playing chess and nodding to themselves, dogs slumped against dead-eyed kids with tears tattooed on their faces, the bursts of commuters up from the subways, dilating into the streets, the garbage cans overflowing with plastic water bottles and trashed New York dailies, a woman screaming into a cell phone while adjusting her bra, three blond men on a corner holding a map between them, speaking German, the sidewalk quaking as the N, Q, R trains ran in and out of the station underneath, a smoky, acrid cloud next to a gyro cart, tables laid with paperbacks, cheap leather, bulk T-shirts, the leftovers of lives, and then dehydrated carnations, left in the middle of the sidewalk, fossilized in plastic, irradiated with light. Everyone stepped around them, tenderly. I moved out of their way as wellShe also has those little secrets about women that men wonder about and like to know: "I wished my hair was down so my neck and cheek weren't so vulnerable."Two observations: One, the novel takes place in 2006. That's a year before the iPhone came out and before anyone had heard of Facebook. I think it would be a different novel if it took place in, say, 2013. I'm glad it takes place when it does. Two, it's being called a "coming of age" novel and I suppose it is, but people my age (late 50s) think of that phrase referring to people in their teens to late teens. The narrator here, Tess, is 22. This may have to do with how managed children are by their hovering parents until they leave home.

It was completely a restraunt setting. A bit fast and in between I was losing track of whats being said and about whom. Go for it if you must.

Wer zeitgenössische, lebenskluge chicklit mag, die im neoliberalen New Yorke der twenty- bis thyrtiesomethings angesiedelt ist, wird dieses Buch lieben. Coming of age aus Sicht einer weiblichen Protagonistin wurde so aktuell, schön und schmerzhaft realistisch seit der Jahrtausendwende wohl nicht geschrieben. Literatur für junge Kosmopoliten und Brooklyn-Liebhaber, auch, und vielleicht besonders, für männliche Leser (es werden Geheimnisse ausgeplaudert).

Thank you!!!

This book is so good I can't even explain it. The relationship between Tess and Jake is addictive and you can't stop reading it from the second you start.

This book stands out in a sea of what have so far this year been 'average' titles. Cleverly written, it draws you in and what happens matters. One of those books that you can't put down or if you have to then you're marking time until you can pick it up again. Apparently the reviewer from the New York Times found it so gripping that he missed his plane - despite having already checked in and sitting at the gate!