Book Summary and Reviews of Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler

Book Summary

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 and 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.

Sweetbitter is a story of discovery, enchantment, and the power of what remains after disillusionment.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. The title appears within one of the novel's epigraphs, a quote from a poem by Sappho: "Eros once again limb-­loosener whirls me / Sweetbitter, impossible to fight off, creature stealing up." How does this fit into Tess's story?
2. On page 4, Tess likens the Hudson River to Lethe. According to Greek mythology, the dead drink from Lethe to forget their previous lives. On page 13, in her interview with Howard, Tess says, "Or maybe it means we've forgotten ourselves. And we keep forgetting ourselves. And that's the big grown-­up secret to survival." What is Tess trying to forget?
3. Throughout the novel, Tess considers the idea that she is a "fifty-­one percenter," whose optimistic warmth, intelligence, work ethic, ...