Does anyone else look up books and their authors to see the articles/reviews/buzz about them? Sweetbitter got quite a lot when it came out in 2016. ThDoes anyone else look up books and their authors to see the articles/reviews/buzz about them? Sweetbitter got quite a lot when it came out in 2016. The author, Stephanie Danler, had worked in the restaurant business for years and she inputted her expertise into this novel, her debut!
One issue I have with reading huge amounts of praise before beginning a novel is that I often have expectations that may not be met. I often avoid reviews, especially spoiler-y ones on goodreads, so that I have a clean slate when starting a book. But for Sweetbitter, I was a hundred pages in and dissatisfied and I wanted to know what people had been saying about it when it came out.
Overall, I think that Danler is a talented writer. In the beginning, I was growing rather bored with reading about Tess learning how to work in the restaurant business. It gets good when the politics within the restaurant begin to come more to the surface. The seedy manager who sleeps with a number of new girls, Tess's entering into a not quite love triangle with the bartender and a waitress who had known each other since they were children, and the trials of becoming immersed into the business and how easy to be sucked in for years. By midway through, I was enjoying the novel and I do love reading about young people in New York City trying to make it, since I am about to graduate and plan on moving to New York City at some point in the future. But overall, I didn't love this novel. I am intrigued to read more of Danler's work and may check out her next one, whenever that may be. Time will tell!
Have you read Sweetbitter? Let me know what you think in the comments. ...more
Ada, or Ardor, although nearly six hundred pages felt a lot more like two hundred. Perhaps it's because I've been reading about too many rich people aAda, or Ardor, although nearly six hundred pages felt a lot more like two hundred. Perhaps it's because I've been reading about too many rich people as of late but by the third time Ada and Van had gotten back together I found myself not caring about them, their lives, or their love. Perhaps I am expecting too much since the only novel I've read by Nabokov is Lolita. ...more
As great as the beginning was, the ending to this novel left me unsatisfied. It seemed out of place and unnecessary but in all honesty I don't know hoAs great as the beginning was, the ending to this novel left me unsatisfied. It seemed out of place and unnecessary but in all honesty I don't know how else it could have been written. ...more
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