Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler
| Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler | |
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| Category: Literary Fiction | |
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Reviewer: Amy Etherington
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| Summary: An eloquent novel which explores love, life, and the intimacy of human relationships. Thoughtfully written, Danler's prose gently carries you through a story that surprisingly sticks with you, even after you've turned the final page. | |
| Buy? Maybe | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 368 | Date: June 2016 |
| Publisher: Oneworld Publications | |
| ISBN: 978-1780749150 | |
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Twenty –two year old Tess is a restless graduate from a broken family. With the intention of finally starting her life, she moves to New York City with no real plan but a need to do something. She manages to get a job at one of the most exclusive restaurants in town as a back-waiter and Tess is thrown into the comforting commotion of New York life. It's at her new job that she becomes fascinated by two people: Simone, a know-it-all server and Jake, a handsome yet moody bartender. While the restaurant becomes her home and her colleagues her new family, Sweetbitter follows Tess through a year of her life as she grows and learns about the complexities of human relationships.
Author Stephanie Danler certainly has an intricate way with words and throughout reading this I had to remind myself that this is a debut novel, and not the work of a writer with many years more experience. If I could describe Sweetbitter in one word it would be raw - everything is stripped of glamour and the claustrophobic, monotonous daily cycle of Tess consumes you. The flair in Tess's life is food and wine, things that are both treated as an art form in the world of the restaurant, and to say that Danler did a good job at creating a world within a Union Square New York restaurant might sound bizarre, but it's true. It's a microcosm of New York life – everything is always moving and it's the chaotic, punishing routine of a back-waiter that awakens Tess's appetite for food, for love, and for life.
At times this felt like a novel I could really relate too thanks to the details Danler provides of Tess's experience working as a waiter. Having worked as a waitress myself for many years the similarity between Tess's working life and my own were incredibly similar, and even if you've never worked in a restaurant environment before the overall tone of the novel has a strong sense of nostalgia. The whole story seems to capture and echo the general commotion of everyday life and I thought it was very clever how Danler managed to capture this in her writing.
The prose, the style, and the execution of this novel are all excellent, but I found this to be a rather slow, quite gentle read. When I was reading, I was interested and eager to continue but this isn't a novel I devoured in a few days, and I don't mean this in a bad way because some books you feel you want to take your time with. Sweetbitter for me is one of those novels. It's dreamy and raw and ultimately a study of a young woman as she learns about life and about herself. With the exception of Tess I didn't particularly like many of the other characters, but again I didn't find this to be a negative factor. As I said, this novel isn't sugar coated and the characters have their flaws – in many ways it was the reality of the story that made it so enchanting.
Whilst reading Sweetbitter I found I was reminded of The Girls by Emma Cline. The novels are very different in terms of subject matter, but the prose in both is equally delightful. I would also recommend Why We Came to the City by Kristopher Jansma, another novel set in New York City that deals with the complexity of love and life.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler at Amazon.com.
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