A review by lizziematata
Sweetbitter, by Stephanie Danler
4.0
Sweetbitter is surprising, which is why I think everybody likes it. Technically, it is predictable-it was for me-I predicted the ending and the outcome (or the message-if you will) but, nonetheless, when the message came-it surprised me, and I liked it.
Tess is young and trapped in her young mind. She needs to escape her life in suburbia so like a lot of young people she moves to New York to find a new, cooler life. She finds her new life in an upscale restaurant as a backwaiter, and she learns of worldly things like food and wine. While learning these things, she mistakenly confuses the people teaching her as worldly and wise as well. During those parts, I couldn't get past Tess's blind faith in these awful people that she works with. It is plain to readers that the two people she looks up to most are just as lost as she is, if not more, but it gets incredibly frustrating to witness Tess potentially ruin her life for these people to become just like them.
Tess can be annoying, her coworkers are annoying, and the restaurant is annoying (though I would eat there if I could because the food sounds delicious). So, while reading this, I often got annoyed-and I personally felt like I actually didn't really like Sweetbitter because of it-but, I suppose in reality that's what makes a good book-that ability to invoke true feeling in the readers. Basically, when the moral of the story came, I appreciated it, and it was beautiful. Even despite the story itself, Sweetbitter is written so well that it's still hard to put down because the words-the descriptions and the style-are so exceptional.
Tess is young and trapped in her young mind. She needs to escape her life in suburbia so like a lot of young people she moves to New York to find a new, cooler life. She finds her new life in an upscale restaurant as a backwaiter, and she learns of worldly things like food and wine. While learning these things, she mistakenly confuses the people teaching her as worldly and wise as well. During those parts, I couldn't get past Tess's blind faith in these awful people that she works with. It is plain to readers that the two people she looks up to most are just as lost as she is, if not more, but it gets incredibly frustrating to witness Tess potentially ruin her life for these people to become just like them.
Tess can be annoying, her coworkers are annoying, and the restaurant is annoying (though I would eat there if I could because the food sounds delicious). So, while reading this, I often got annoyed-and I personally felt like I actually didn't really like Sweetbitter because of it-but, I suppose in reality that's what makes a good book-that ability to invoke true feeling in the readers. Basically, when the moral of the story came, I appreciated it, and it was beautiful. Even despite the story itself, Sweetbitter is written so well that it's still hard to put down because the words-the descriptions and the style-are so exceptional.