Aftertaste by Daria Lavelle

Book Description

What if you could have one last meal with someone you’ve loved, someone you’ve lost? Combining the magic of Under the Whispering Door with the high-stakes culinary world of Sweetbitter, Aftertaste is an epic love story, a dark comedy, and a synesthetic adventure through food and grief.

A food story to binge. A ghost story to devour. A love story to savor.

Set in the bustling world of New York restaurants and teeming with mouthwatering food writing, Aftertaste is a whirlwind romance, a heart-wrenching look at love and loss, and a ghost story about all the ways we hunger—and how far we’d go to find satisfaction.

Review

In Daria Lavelle’s Aftertaste, grief has a flavor. Sometimes it’s bitter, sometimes it’s sharp, but it’s always unforgettable. If you enjoy sensory-rich books, prepare yourself. Lavelle steeps her novel in longing, love, and the power of food to hold memory.

The story follows Kostya, a Ukrainian-American chef who discovers he can taste the favorite foods of the dead. That premise alone hooked me. I’m a huge foodie, and I weave a lot of food into my Elemental Artist series, so a book where flavor becomes haunting was instantly appealing.

Lavelle’s writing is vivid and visceral. You can practically taste the sour cherries, the browned butter, and the funky tang of fermented cabbage. Just like in life, each favorite dish held memory, love, and loss.

I adored how Aftertaste explored how flavors connect us. Not just to the living, but to the people and places we’ve lost too. After the summer I’ve had, Kostya’s grief felt grounded. His hunger for food and for understanding was both literal and figurative.

The sensory richness and emotional depth made me fly through the novel. I found it bittersweet, unexpected, and deeply satisfying.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Ari Fliakos, Tessa Albertson, André Santana, and Kristen Sieh. It’s one of the best performances I’ve heard all year. The cast precisely captures the story’s blend of humor, heartbreak, and sensory magic beautifully. It’s no wonder the book is a winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.

If you enjoyed The Phoenix Pencil Company’s reflection on memory and art, Aftertaste is its culinary cousin. It’s also proof that sometimes the most magical thing we can do is feed each other.

Content Warning

Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Fire, Food, Grief, Illness, Loss of a parent, Suicide

The header photo is a composite image. Base image by Calum Lewis on Unsplash