Welcome to the restaurant for hungry ghosts — a deliciously silly novel
Kostya is 11 years old when he tastes his first ghostly meal. At the pool, sunburnt and missing his dead father, he feels a flavour travel across his tongue out of nowhere. 'Chicken liver, sautéed onions, fresh dill garnish, squeeze of lemon. Pechonka.' It was once his Ukrainian father's favourite dish.
Kostya's special gift is that ghosts can send him messages through his tongue. When he's near someone grieving, the food their departed loved one is craving suddenly appears at the back of his throat. It's always a meal that holds an important memory, making him a sort of Proust by proxy. He's biking in a New York City park when his mouth is suddenly filled with ghostly chicken wings. On the Q subway train
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The zeitgeist is an uncontrollable variable, and though its current was overall weaker this year, it still flashed in lower-billed sets that got the people going. South African siren Tyla performed Bliss for the first time live – albeit so early on Friday the adults were not yet out of work – and, as at Coachella, transfixed audiences with her sinuous dancing and micro-shorts. whose guitar feats inspired dozens of 'how did he do that?' videos last year, kicked off the weekend by blowing out everyone's ear drums (complimentary) in a smoky, banter-less, virtuosic set befitting a new guitar mystic. Puerto Rican reggaeton artist Young Miko nearly stole the show Saturday, flexing her bars and Puerto Rican pride for one of the most hype sets of the weekend. 'New York, is it gay here or is it just me?' she said in English, wishing everyone a happy pride month. (And later, in Spanish and to huge cheers, 'Whenever I come to New York I feel at home.') 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