Ground Up

Light streams through the windows as the espresso machine roars; a gorgeous, rich scent fills the air; and witty conversation unspools over the porcelain cups.

That's the caf dream. Mark and Nina are about to experience the reality. Determined to re-create the perfect Viennese coffeehouse, they descend on New York's gritty but hip Lower East Side to educate the locals on authentic caf culture. Soon Mark and Nina are in a downward spiral that will strip them of money, friends, sex life, status, shelter, and, finally, sanity--and offer salvation through something they have never experienced: disaster.

Inspired by the author's own coffeehouse hell, Ground Up is a sharp and funny portrait of a New York constantly reinventing itself, and a surprisingly tender story of falling out of love and back in it again.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Published: 07/21/2009
ISBN: 9780374531546
Pages: 290
Weight: 0.80lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.50w x 0.90d

Review Citations: Publishers Weekly 05/18/2009 pg. 31
Kirkus Reviews 06/01/2009
Booklist 07/01/2009 pg. 31