Sweetbitter

A lush, raw, thrilling novel of the senses about a year in the life of a uniquely beguiling young woman, set in the wild, alluring world of a famous downtown New York restaurant.

"Let's say I was born when I came over the George Washington Bridge…"

This is how we meet unforgettable Tess, the twenty-two-year-old at the heart of this stunning first novel. Shot from a mundane, provincial past, she's come to New York to look for a life she can't define, except as a burning drive to become someone, to belong somewhere. After she stumbles into a coveted job at a renowned Union Square restaurant, we spend the year with her as she learns the chaotic, punishing, privileged life of a "backwaiter," on duty off. Her appetites — for food, wine, knowledge, and every kind of experience — are awakened. And she's pulled into the magnetic thrall of two other servers — a handsome bartender she falls hard for, and an older woman she latches onto with an orphan's ardor.

These two and their enigmatic connection to each other will prove to be Tess's hardest lesson of all. is a story of discovery, enchantment, and the power of what remains after disillusionment.