From the author of the international bestseller Sweetbitter, a memoir of survival, starting over, and love in all its complicated guises.
Even after achieving her dream of selling her debut novel, Stephanie Danler feels adrift in New York. Struggling in the throes of a doomed relationship and haunted by her tumultuous childhood, something nameless compels her to return home to Southern California.
In a cottage in Laurel Canyon, as a new life begins to shape itself, she finally succumbs to memories of the past that have proved impossible to escape. A father who swung in and out of her life erratically, charming and mercurial and prone to addiction. A mother now disabled by years of alcoholism and an aneurysm, who cannot remember the abuse she inflicted. The looming, desolate mountains of Colorado, and a teenage freedom that nearly killed her. And above all, the painful love and forgiveness for those who failed her over and over again.
'It's such a thrill to watch a writer open up her greediest thoughts, to slice open little pockets of her skin and root around underneath her flesh.' New York Times Book Review
'A compulsive, neck-breaking masterpiece.' Lisa Taddeo
'This is a story of triumph: the triumph of grit, talent, grace, and beauty over the dark pull of inner demons.' Dani Shapiro
Ostras, champagne, borgoña, cocaína, amistad, lujuria, amor y bares de mala muerte enseñarán a la joven Tess el significado de hacerse mayor en una ciudad como Nueva York.
Tess llega a Nueva York en el sofocante verano de 2006. Tiene veintidós años, no conoce a nadie y solo aspira a sobrevivir dignamente en la ciudad. Un día logra encontrar trabajo como camarera en un célebre restaurante de Manhattan y, entonces, todo cambia. Así comienza el año que pasaremos con ella. Nuestra heroína comprueba que no sabe nada. Se equivoca y vuelve a empezar. Experimenta la perplejidad de sentirse atraída por quien no debe. Sus compañeros le parecen fascinantes, casi tanto como la cocaína o el borgoña. Intenta descubrir adónde la lleva cada uno de sus pasos… Los bares de madrugada, las ostras, el paté y ciertos clientes; la confusión y la euforia. 'Dulceagrio' es el retrato de un aprendizaje, la historia de un período maravillosamente caótico en la existencia de una joven que no sabe ni por dónde empezar a buscarse. Su entorno despierta lujurias y apetitos (por la comida o el vino, pero también por el conocimiento) que van abriéndole caminos inesperados. ¿Hacia dónde se dirige? En realidad lo ignora, pero ¿acaso no es la incertidumbre una parte ineludible de la vida?
Grabado en español ibérico (España).
INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A thrilling novel of the senses and a coming-of-age tale, following a small-town girl into the electrifying world of New York City and the education of a lifetime at one of the most exclusive restaurants in Manhattan. Perfect for readers of Kitchen Confidential and Blood, Bones and Butter.Twenty-two, and knowing no one, Tess leaves home to begin her adult life in New York City. Thus begins a year that is both enchanting and punishing, in a low-level job at the best restaurant in New York City. Grueling hours and a steep culinary learning curve awaken her to the beauty of oysters, the finest Champagnes, the appellations of Burgundy. At the same time, she opens herself to friendships and love set against the backdrop of dive bars and late nights. As her appetites sharpen for food and wine, but also for knowledge, experience, and belonging Tess is drawn into adarkly alluring love triangle that will prove to be her most exhilarating and painful lesson of all. Stephanie Danler deftly conjures the nonstop and purely adrenalized world of the restaurant conversations interrupted, phrases overheard, and suggestions below the surface. Evoking the infinite possibility of being young in New York with heart-stopping accuracy, Sweetbitter is ultimately about the power of what remains after disillusionment, and the wisdom that comes from experience, sweet and bitter.From the Hardcover edition.
