A vivid novel of defiance and struggle, of the potent promise of the good life and the desperation and drink that waylay those whom it eludes.

First paperback edition of this 2015 Man Booker Prize-shortlisted novel

'The adventures of the original bad boy of the New York restaurant/hotel underbelly continue. Whether writing about the backstairs misadventures of cooks and waiters or travel to faraway lands, Bemelmans is always funny, insightful and dead on target. No one has ever surpassed the master' - Anthony Bourdain