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chefbex's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
leighgoodmark's review against another edition
4.0
The dialogue is too precious at times and the book sorely needs an adverb editor (I want this job-I will remove every pretentious adverb in your manuscript for a fee), but when she writes, just writes, the book is wonderful. You can feel what it's like to be in the kitchen of a restaurant like Union Square in a visceral way. Overlook the pretentiousness-it's worth the time.
bethpeebles's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
telimena's review against another edition
2.0
if there would be a little more “experiencing living in new york” and a little less “tess obsessed with a guy she knows nothing about” it could be a good book
bevelynhugo's review against another edition
4.0
This book was so “no plot just vibes.” But really you read it for the characters. It seemed like Tess had a crush on Simone the whole time… I know I certainly did <3 She’s such a sexily written character who knows a lot about wine and is very good at her job, and she’s kind of cold and mean at times which I love. But towards the end you find out that Simone is basically tied down to the restaurant and has no other skillset and that makes Tess kind of lose respect for her. Also, because Simone’s man ran off with Samantha she’s stuck basically babysitting Jake. Although it’s clear that she and Jake were never a couple. I feel like Tess was so into Simone and her relationship with Jake was not well-developed… she should’ve been with Simone fr. I thought Simone was gay for a second because it said she and her ex-friend Samantha fell for each other “in a schoolgirl way” and was disappointed to find out Simone’s heartbreak was actually because she stole her man. Anyway I don’t care what anyone says, this book is homoerotic and I basically only read it for Simone. Also it was really poetically written and I just loved the writing style. It felt sort of dream-like. Everyone who says it’s pretentious just lacks taste. But granted I am the target audience being Tess’ age and just finding out what I want to do in life. I really like how hard Tess tries in her backwaiter job because some of us are just like that, we develop a passion for something if we do it every day. Overall I had a really fun time reading it, and it’s one of those books you don’t have to read every day since there’s barely a plot and you don’t really have to remember what happened last time. Btw the ending felt really bittersweet with the restaurant closing and the gang heading their own directions. So this book is aptly titled.
sarahetc's review against another edition
3.0
A fairly even split between frustrating and compelling. It's the sort of book that hooks you with gentle, tantalizing description and clever dialogue that you can't just skim. You have to read each word and build the scene down to each eyebrow expression and twitch of tone in your head. And there's something really worthwhile in that sort of literature. It's nourishing. Or maybe I'm just still mentally in a book about a restaurant that talks a lot about food, but never about the patrons who purchase it, only the main character, Tess, who must learn it so she can sell it-- oysters, wine, foie gras, all of it.
And then, about a third of the way through, I realized I hadn't been given more than one idea about any of the secondary characters. The story revolves around Tess, the newest backwaiter at the most prestigious restaurant in New York City. She has a crush on Jake, one of the bartenders, who is in a freakishly codependent, confusing, quasi-sexual relationship with Simone, the best of the best of the best of the waiters. Simone takes Tess under her wing and Tess fails to put two and two together about her relationship with Jake even when everything and everyone is a giant neon sign pointing her at it. The dust jacket makes it seem like a coming-of-age story about a love-based three-way. It is definitely not. And you, as a reader, are given the words and actions of about 10 other characters who work with the three main ones. Only the Russia guy that shares his cocaine with Tess sets himself apart. As soon as I realized, I turned to read the author bio. She has an MFA from the New School and lives in Brooklyn. Okay, self-insert.
And I ended the book still frustrated that this was written very much to impress an MFA workshop. If I wanted to dig into the finest, tiniest details of Danler's prose, I could write a heck of a review. But I can also fairly confidently say that I bet this was published because three slush readers thought it was impenetrable, therefore desirable, and nobody spoke up to say, "This is... it's not as good as it seems." So yeah, I keep coming back and back to frustrating.
And then, about a third of the way through, I realized I hadn't been given more than one idea about any of the secondary characters. The story revolves around Tess, the newest backwaiter at the most prestigious restaurant in New York City. She has a crush on Jake, one of the bartenders, who is in a freakishly codependent, confusing, quasi-sexual relationship with Simone, the best of the best of the best of the waiters. Simone takes Tess under her wing and Tess fails to put two and two together about her relationship with Jake even when everything and everyone is a giant neon sign pointing her at it. The dust jacket makes it seem like a coming-of-age story about a love-based three-way. It is definitely not. And you, as a reader, are given the words and actions of about 10 other characters who work with the three main ones. Only the Russia guy that shares his cocaine with Tess sets himself apart. As soon as I realized, I turned to read the author bio. She has an MFA from the New School and lives in Brooklyn. Okay, self-insert.
And I ended the book still frustrated that this was written very much to impress an MFA workshop. If I wanted to dig into the finest, tiniest details of Danler's prose, I could write a heck of a review. But I can also fairly confidently say that I bet this was published because three slush readers thought it was impenetrable, therefore desirable, and nobody spoke up to say, "This is... it's not as good as it seems." So yeah, I keep coming back and back to frustrating.
bzoetbzoet's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5