nomadreader

The backstory: Stephanie Danler's debut novel, Sweetbitter , is one of my all-time favorites . The basics: Stray  is a memoir "of growing up in a family shattered by lies and addiction, and of one woman’s attempts to find a life beyond the limits of her past." My thoughts: One of the reasons I loved  Sweetbitter  so much is that it's the rare trifecta of a novel that has a great plot/characters, great writing, and great wisdom. Stray  is filled with great writing and great wisdom, but those looking for a traditional memoir may find the book's construction a bit confusing. It's broken into three thematic sections: Mother, Father, and The Monster (the married man with whom she has an affair), but the three characters overlap across all three sections. The vignettes also move across geography and time. Stray  is a writer's memoir. I'm grateful I had the time and space to read it in twenty-four (non-consecutive) hours. Many of the vignettes or essa...

The basics:  "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."--publisher My thoughts: I am not often a reader who makes much of first lines. I don't know if that's a trait unique to me, or a result that the first lines of books I read aren't remarkably good or bad. But when I started Sweetbitter , I read the first paragraph, put the book down, added it to my favorite passages, and texted it to Mr. Nomadreader: "You will develop a palate.  A palate is a spot on your tongue where you remember. Where you assign words to the textures of taste. ...