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The Bobby Gold Stories
Bobby Gold is a lovable criminal. After nearly ten years in prison, he's no sooner out than he's back to work breaking bones for tough guys. His turf: the club scene and restaurant business. It's not that he enjoys the job-Bobby has real heart-but he's good at it, and a guy has to make a living. Things change when he meets Nikki, the cook at a club most definitely not in his territory. Smitten, he can't stay away. Bobby Gold has known trouble before, but with Nikki the sauté bitch in his life, things take a turn for life or death.
A fast, furious, pitch-perfect story of food, sex, crime, and mayhem, The Bobby Gold Stories is Bourdain at his best.
A fast, furious, pitch-perfect story of food, sex, crime, and mayhem, The Bobby Gold Stories is Bourdain at his best.
165 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
49 people are currently reading
1763 people want to read
About the author
Anthony Bourdain
83 books5,578 followersAnthony Michael Bourdain was an American celebrity chef, author, and travel documentarian. He starred in programs focusing on the exploration of international culture, cuisine, and the human condition.
Bourdain was a 1978 graduate of The Culinary Institute of America and a veteran of many professional kitchens during his career, which included several years spent as an executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles, in Manhattan. He first became known for his bestselling book Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (2000).
Bourdain's first food and world-travel television show A Cook's Tour ran for 35 episodes on the Food Network in 2002 and 2003. In 2005, he began hosting the Travel Channel's culinary and cultural adventure programs Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations (2005–2012) and The Layover (2011–2013). In 2013, he began a three-season run as a judge on The Taste and consequently switched his travelogue programming to CNN to host Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. Although best known for his culinary writings and television presentations, along with several books on food and cooking and travel adventures, Bourdain also wrote both fiction and historical nonfiction.
Bourdain was a 1978 graduate of The Culinary Institute of America and a veteran of many professional kitchens during his career, which included several years spent as an executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles, in Manhattan. He first became known for his bestselling book Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (2000).
Bourdain's first food and world-travel television show A Cook's Tour ran for 35 episodes on the Food Network in 2002 and 2003. In 2005, he began hosting the Travel Channel's culinary and cultural adventure programs Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations (2005–2012) and The Layover (2011–2013). In 2013, he began a three-season run as a judge on The Taste and consequently switched his travelogue programming to CNN to host Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. Although best known for his culinary writings and television presentations, along with several books on food and cooking and travel adventures, Bourdain also wrote both fiction and historical nonfiction.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 217 reviews
September 16, 2022
I was really impressed with this book...Bourdain has a real talent for taking people out of their element and then confronting them with problems they have to solve before they can move on. Bobby Gold is coming for you if you owe the wrong people money; he has to break your bones to make his point, but he will let you pick what to break. A very original character!
November 30, 2011
You could finish the entire thing during the course of a particularly epic bowel movement, and you get the sense it's just something Anthony Bourdain threw together to capitalize on the success of the mega bestseller Kitchen Confidential and the subsequent TV series, but who gives a shit? I don't like long books anyway, because they take forever to read, and it makes me feel like that's because I can't read well (when it's really just the book's fault), and I'm a very sensitive person, due to my financial situation. This book reads like a cross between No Reservations and The Sopranos. Of course I've seen all 100+ episodes of each series. I've probably seen them all several times over. (Oh, so that's what happened to my 20s.) This book was right up my alley. No Boutros.
June 12, 2018
After waking up the other morning to the news of Bourdain's death, I immediately went to my Kindle and bought everything I didn't already own. I realized that I hadn't had the pleasure of the Bobby Gold Stories yet.
Two things occurred to me while reading:
1) I didn't know Tony wrote smut. Not the best or the worst I've ever read.
2) The last chapter really opened my eyes to what must have been going on in his head all these years.
Overall, it's a short book, some grubby brain candy. It's not an award-winner, but this is how I look at it... Was I entertained? Yes.
Two things occurred to me while reading:
1) I didn't know Tony wrote smut. Not the best or the worst I've ever read.
2) The last chapter really opened my eyes to what must have been going on in his head all these years.
Overall, it's a short book, some grubby brain candy. It's not an award-winner, but this is how I look at it... Was I entertained? Yes.
June 27, 2016
I liked this one more than I thought I would. Sometimes short stories are hard to read b/c they get choppy but these were just the right amount. Bourdain also connected them well. We got the story without all the filler. This one might be my favorite of his fiction books.
November 9, 2021
A very shot read by Anthony Bourdain. I don’t think it’ll be to everyone’s liking, but I loved it. The book reads like a collection of short stories from the life of the main character, Booby Gold. The writing style is classic Bourdain, filled with larger-than-life characters. A must-read for any Bourdain fans wanting to explore his fictional writing side.
August 11, 2014
3 1/2
It's a decent read. Started off 3-ish but improved to 4-ish as it progressed. Bobby had trouble carrying the novel, but the addition of Nikki to the proceedings helped. It moves at a comfortable pace - not quite a page turner, but easy to knock off a couple chapters in a session. Bourdain doesn't ramble or go off on unnecessary tangents, thus the book's manageable length. There are a few interesting plot twists. Decent ending.
It's a decent read. Started off 3-ish but improved to 4-ish as it progressed. Bobby had trouble carrying the novel, but the addition of Nikki to the proceedings helped. It moves at a comfortable pace - not quite a page turner, but easy to knock off a couple chapters in a session. Bourdain doesn't ramble or go off on unnecessary tangents, thus the book's manageable length. There are a few interesting plot twists. Decent ending.
March 6, 2015
I read "Kitchen Confidential" and "A Cook's Tour" many years ago and enthusiastically recommended them to many of my friends. I picked up "Bobby Gold" back when we still had a specialist crime book store in London and it has sat on the shelf ever since. I knew that Anthony Bourdain could write, but crime fiction?. Well he can do that as well. This is very short but fast paced, punchy and involving. I have already searched out his other fiction and will set about acquiring them soon.
August 10, 2007
This was a nice book. A VERY quick read. I would almost say it is more of a novella. Although I was left wanting more from the story, he does do a good job painting the picture of the main character Bobby Gold. I am looking forward to reading more of Anthony Bourdain's books.
Also a nice touch on the copy of the book I read, it came with a ribbon for a book marker.
Also a nice touch on the copy of the book I read, it came with a ribbon for a book marker.
August 30, 2019
Brain candy for Bourdain fans: violent, funny, smutty. And there’s food, of course. He was a brilliant essayist and I love his nonfiction, so I wasn’t sure what to expect here. These short stories starring the tough but likable Bobby Gold weren’t mind-blowing, but they certainly were entertaining.
April 21, 2016
I just finished reading this book last night. Now Goodreads is asking me to recommend this book and I...I just can't do that.
One of the hygienists at my dentist's office insisted I try reading an Anthony Bourdain novel--she said she loves his writing. It took me a while to get around to his work, but I bought "The Bobby Gold Stories" and sat down for a quick read. Instead of "this is great, let's read another" I had to DRAG myself through it. I kept telling myself "just 20 more pages, just 10 more pages, just 5 more pages" until I finally made it to the end. I don't consider myself a prude by any means, but this book just seemed like a reason for Bourdain to write about unnecessary sex and gratuitous cussing (but that can be given some leniency considering Bobby Gold's employment). The characters rambled about nothing. Bobby and Nikki just kind of inexplicably happened.
It's a quick read and nothing you have to think about too much (if that's what you look for in a book), but it completely turned me off of anymore Anthony Bourdain novels.
One of the hygienists at my dentist's office insisted I try reading an Anthony Bourdain novel--she said she loves his writing. It took me a while to get around to his work, but I bought "The Bobby Gold Stories" and sat down for a quick read. Instead of "this is great, let's read another" I had to DRAG myself through it. I kept telling myself "just 20 more pages, just 10 more pages, just 5 more pages" until I finally made it to the end. I don't consider myself a prude by any means, but this book just seemed like a reason for Bourdain to write about unnecessary sex and gratuitous cussing (but that can be given some leniency considering Bobby Gold's employment). The characters rambled about nothing. Bobby and Nikki just kind of inexplicably happened.
It's a quick read and nothing you have to think about too much (if that's what you look for in a book), but it completely turned me off of anymore Anthony Bourdain novels.
April 28, 2014
This was not very good, but it was certainly not bad, and it was enjoyable for what it was. I did wish that I had been Bourdain's editor and could have helped him make it a better book -- yes, arrogant, I know, but some of what I saw as poorly written in the novel surely could have been guided into better shape. Bourdain can put together good sentences and amusing ones, and while there is nothing astonishing in the plot, there does not have to be, it is a good read regardless. But the food needed some different handling to be the characters rather than Bourdain himself, and I wonder why it is his editor did not help him shape it more.
May 14, 2025
Audiobook: 4.5/5
Short, concise, and had some fun moments. The scene with him and the AB brothers was my favorite. Fixes a lot of the issues I had with Bourdain's previous works. You can tell he is writing a lot of this from personal experience. The amount of food/chef wankery is still annoying after a point.
Ignore the pearl clutching in the other reviews, the amount of sexual language borders on excessive but nothing too crazy. The narrator was excellent so that enhanced the story for me. Perhaps if I read it, I would rate it lower.
Short, concise, and had some fun moments. The scene with him and the AB brothers was my favorite. Fixes a lot of the issues I had with Bourdain's previous works. You can tell he is writing a lot of this from personal experience. The amount of food/chef wankery is still annoying after a point.
Ignore the pearl clutching in the other reviews, the amount of sexual language borders on excessive but nothing too crazy. The narrator was excellent so that enhanced the story for me. Perhaps if I read it, I would rate it lower.
October 17, 2022
I had no idea Bourdain had even written any novels until a friend bought me this. It's a real surprise. Grimy, violent, funny, seedy, smutty. It has the spirit of Elmore Leonard, only with more food talk. I liked it a lot.
April 30, 2016
When he was just 21, Bobby Gold -- ne Goldstein -- was sold out to the cops by his childhood friend and now small-time gangster Eddie Fish. Arrested for the stash of Eddie's cocaine he was transporting, Bobby was sent upstate for a good long stretch. Years later, having built up his body in prison and mangled a couple of fellow inmates, Bobby is a free man . . . which means he has a public job as bouncer at Eddie's nightclub and a private one as Eddie's enforcer. But Bobby's a nice guy, really. If he has to break someone's arm he supplies a few painkillers first, and he's sure to apologize for what he's about to do. And he's capable of falling in love, as he does with saucier Nikki. At which point thngs start going all to hell . . .
The Bobby Gold Stories is an episodic novel, with some of its chapters working as standalone stories but the whole collection working, sort of, as a single narrative. It offers a fast and an easy read . . . just like Chinese takeaway is a fast and an easy feed. By the time I'd finished it, I found I was hungry for a book I could actually get my teeth into. Bourdain's style is one of those that it's immensely easy to read; it's also one that's immensely easy to write . . . although not, it appears, one that it's immensely easy to copyedit, or perhaps the several howlers I came across were regarded at Bloomsbury as autographic idiosyncrasies.
Although the book's full of (quite nicely done) sex, violence and obscenity, time and time again I found it was reminding me of another, quite different set of fictions: Giovannino Guareschi's Don Camillo tales. (From me this is, by the way, huge praise: I love and adore the Don Camillo stories.) You have the same essential goodheartedness, the same occasional gentle twist of a story's plot, the same expectation that from time to time there'll be the introduction of some piece of homespun philosophy.
If you enjoy Chuck Palahniuk you'll probably like this. If you enjoy Jane Austen . . . well, you might quite like this too, should your tastes be broad. Me, I came to the conclusion that it was readable trash, but not so very much more.
The Bobby Gold Stories is an episodic novel, with some of its chapters working as standalone stories but the whole collection working, sort of, as a single narrative. It offers a fast and an easy read . . . just like Chinese takeaway is a fast and an easy feed. By the time I'd finished it, I found I was hungry for a book I could actually get my teeth into. Bourdain's style is one of those that it's immensely easy to read; it's also one that's immensely easy to write . . . although not, it appears, one that it's immensely easy to copyedit, or perhaps the several howlers I came across were regarded at Bloomsbury as autographic idiosyncrasies.
Although the book's full of (quite nicely done) sex, violence and obscenity, time and time again I found it was reminding me of another, quite different set of fictions: Giovannino Guareschi's Don Camillo tales. (From me this is, by the way, huge praise: I love and adore the Don Camillo stories.) You have the same essential goodheartedness, the same occasional gentle twist of a story's plot, the same expectation that from time to time there'll be the introduction of some piece of homespun philosophy.
If you enjoy Chuck Palahniuk you'll probably like this. If you enjoy Jane Austen . . . well, you might quite like this too, should your tastes be broad. Me, I came to the conclusion that it was readable trash, but not so very much more.
March 15, 2023
If Elmore Leonard and Charles Bukowski had a baby, and that baby grew up and had a baby with James Ellroy that baby would grow up and write this.
Short. Really easy read with great energy and pace. There is so much Bourdain in here. The hatred of western culture, the passion for the east, the obsession with culinary styles and techniques..... and sadly a lot of the pain and mental struggles are hidden amongst the words.
His prose is very familiar from the soliloquy you have heard if you watched Parts Unknown or the Layover. You know that bit at the start where hes talking about a place really viscerally and passionately in that very unique style of his? Well he writes like that too. And its fun to hear him read the words in your head.
Bobby Gold is a great character but the star is Nikki the ballsy brilliant saute bitch. To be clear, Nikki is Bourdain. Bobby is who Bourdain wishes he had been allowed to be.
Its not going to be for all. But a simple story in the murky realms of the Sopranos or Goodfellas that you will read in 3 hours.
Short. Really easy read with great energy and pace. There is so much Bourdain in here. The hatred of western culture, the passion for the east, the obsession with culinary styles and techniques..... and sadly a lot of the pain and mental struggles are hidden amongst the words.
His prose is very familiar from the soliloquy you have heard if you watched Parts Unknown or the Layover. You know that bit at the start where hes talking about a place really viscerally and passionately in that very unique style of his? Well he writes like that too. And its fun to hear him read the words in your head.
Bobby Gold is a great character but the star is Nikki the ballsy brilliant saute bitch. To be clear, Nikki is Bourdain. Bobby is who Bourdain wishes he had been allowed to be.
Its not going to be for all. But a simple story in the murky realms of the Sopranos or Goodfellas that you will read in 3 hours.
December 25, 2017
The sole reason I read this was because it was the last book I needed to fulfill a reading challenge, but honestly, I would have rathered fail the challenge than read this. It's such a waste of time. It's not well written. Calling it a book is overstating it. Calling it a collection of short stories is overstating it. It's a collection of scenes that are connected and kind of have a point. Only kind of. The one tiny blessing was that this was super short. Each story is at best 3 pages long. So the misery ends quickly.
August 14, 2019
I'm totally not into gangster fiction but read "Bobby Gold" in almost one sitting. Yes, it's somewhat violent but also witty and funny as hell - full of wise guy gangster slang/phrases. Bourdain never disappoints. The book also left me hungry, literally hungry...naturally Bourdain is a master in describing food, food prep, kitchen/chef talk etc.....Gangsters also gotta eat hey!
Think about your favourite gangster/crime movie rolled into one with Masterchef.
"Kitchen Confidential" though remains one of my all time favourite books.
Think about your favourite gangster/crime movie rolled into one with Masterchef.
"Kitchen Confidential" though remains one of my all time favourite books.
February 7, 2016
This book follows the adventures of Bobby Gold, a small time crook, thug and reluctant enforcer.
As you might expect from this author there's quite a bit of excellent kitchen background to some parts of the story. In general it has all the hallmarks of Bourdain's writing, some humor, sarcasm and pointed observations on the New York club/restaurant scene.
A very short book but a bit longer than a novella. Well worth taking the time to read if you can find a copy.
As you might expect from this author there's quite a bit of excellent kitchen background to some parts of the story. In general it has all the hallmarks of Bourdain's writing, some humor, sarcasm and pointed observations on the New York club/restaurant scene.
A very short book but a bit longer than a novella. Well worth taking the time to read if you can find a copy.
January 5, 2012
i'm on the fourth chapter and i'm pretty interested. :]
October 15, 2017
Had Bourdain taken a different path in life, this book could have been his memoir.
December 12, 2023
What a weird sensation to be reading a decent fiction novel written by Anthony Bourdain. Luckily the tone and the subject matter seemed to follow the life of Bourdain very closely. A picture of a hustler, of a rebel living in the outskirts of society in a mental way but still in the midst of it, playing by own rules and navigating through restaurants, sex, money, relationships, crime... in an entertaining, yet pulpy way, reminding of Raymond Chandler and of course Bukowski too, making "Pulp" the most obvious reference to this but with a culinary twist.
A very well-written and enjoyable book which I will completely forget right away.
A very well-written and enjoyable book which I will completely forget right away.
January 17, 2024
Hey, I admire few people more than Anthony Bourdain, but this was not my favourite. Definitely a short, easy read, but left me feeling like something was missing. This feels like a first draft.
Bourdain's "Gone Bamboo" is one of my favourite books I've ever read. Unlike "Gone Bamboo," this book was crude to the extreme, the diction was trying a little too hard, and I never attached myself to any of the characters. Hard to do in 165 pages, but I was definitely left a little disappointed.
Bourdain's "Gone Bamboo" is one of my favourite books I've ever read. Unlike "Gone Bamboo," this book was crude to the extreme, the diction was trying a little too hard, and I never attached myself to any of the characters. Hard to do in 165 pages, but I was definitely left a little disappointed.
June 20, 2024
If this had been written by anyone else, I doubt I ever would’ve picked it up. But as much as I loved Kitchen Confidential, it felt like a no-brainer to make this a quick vacation read. It’s… fine. But it’s just that: a vacation (or even a bathroom) read.
It got a few giggles out of me, but definitely nothing to call home about. If you’re looking for a palette cleanser after a tough book or a break from one of your longer reads, then go for this one.
It got a few giggles out of me, but definitely nothing to call home about. If you’re looking for a palette cleanser after a tough book or a break from one of your longer reads, then go for this one.
January 19, 2022
Brilliant hard boiled gangster crime, shades of the greats Leonard, Elroy, Lehane etc..
I didn’t know Bourdain had written fiction and was given this as a gift.
I will be buying more for sure…
I didn’t know Bourdain had written fiction and was given this as a gift.
I will be buying more for sure…
June 9, 2024
who knew anthony bourdain wrote fiction????
March 11, 2021
In three hours she would have to put on the scratchy poly-blend kitchen whites, the damn food splattered clogs, she'd pick up her knife roll and walk down the long flight of steps to the kitchen and the noise, and the boys who loved her but would never understand her, the endless, relentless flow of incoming orders, the soul destroying stupidity of it all.
February 27, 2012
I prefer Bourdain's food and travel essays to any of his attempts at writing longer narrative works, and Bobby Gold is no exception. The sex-swearing-mangrunts-violence very nearly bored me to tears, but I did find some passages vivid enough to stay with me long after I read this book.
It was five years or more until I first ate marrow, but it was reading this passage that first made me want to try it:
It was five years or more until I first ate marrow, but it was reading this passage that first made me want to try it:
Bobby Gold, in black Ramones T-shirt, black denims and black Nikes, smeared bone marrow on toast and sprinkled sea salt on it before taking a large bite. His mouth was still full when the man came over and stood by his table, looking at him.(Quote passage pulled from ISBN 1582344094, pp. 113-114.)
"What the fuck are you eating?"
Bobby raised an eyebrown and finished eating. The man was tall, about forty-five, with the tired, mean face of an old cop. He wore blue slacks with knife creases, new, white running shoes, and a V-neck T-shirt with a windbreaker over it. His Glock, Bobby guessed, under his left kidney, beneath the T-shirt. There was another gun, something smaller, in an ankle holster on the right. From the man's expression, he did not look like he was going to shoot Bobby -- or arrest him. At least not today.
"Bone marrow," said Bobby, swallowing. "It's wonderful."
"Yuck!" said the cop. "I can't believe you eat that shit."
Blue Ribbon Bakery on Bedford Street in the Village was not a place Bobby expected to see cops. Cops ate out in packs, usually at cop-friendly places where raised voices, heavy drinking and the occasional freebe were not unheard of. Blue Ribbon was not like that. This cop had either recognized him from his sheet -- or, more likely, come looking for him. Bone marrow was a secret pleasure -- something Bobby usually indulged in alone. He'd never told Eddie about the place, afraid of being embarressed, and Nikki couldn't get through a meal without smoking, so he usually came here alone.
December 15, 2016
Bourdain's prose is no-nonsense, to the point and dare I say inspired by his much beloved Ramones. In 'The Bobby Gold Stories' each chapter plays on familiar riffs, whether they be gangster stories or films like 'Prizzi's Honour' or 'Goodfellas', or Bourdain's autobiography as set in the world of line chefs as seen in 'Kitchen Confidential'. The combination of these prose contexts, filtered through his punchy style of writing makes this book a pleasing, readily devoured novella.
The characters are, aside from Bobby Gold himself and his lover Nikki, barely sketched types, and this is not a bad thing. They are carriers for Bourdain's strongest writing skill; his ability to produce sketches of personality that evoke the right context, the right situation for his lead characters to move through the story, interacting and surpassing these supporting personae. The reader is able to easily focus on Gold and to a lesser extent on Nikki because they are like fully coloured in pictures drawn with only a few more brushes, placed against a back drop of barely delineated personalities.
Imbued with a lot of Bourdain's own personality (for example, his publicly avowed dislike of Billy Joel), 'The Bobby Gold Stories' is a very solid work of fiction that doesn't require too much thought. I could be making a silly metaphorical observation here, however it seems to me that this novella is like a very good steak frites. Simple, familiar, prepared well and served with the appropriate lack of any distractions, giving its recipient exactly what they want.
The characters are, aside from Bobby Gold himself and his lover Nikki, barely sketched types, and this is not a bad thing. They are carriers for Bourdain's strongest writing skill; his ability to produce sketches of personality that evoke the right context, the right situation for his lead characters to move through the story, interacting and surpassing these supporting personae. The reader is able to easily focus on Gold and to a lesser extent on Nikki because they are like fully coloured in pictures drawn with only a few more brushes, placed against a back drop of barely delineated personalities.
Imbued with a lot of Bourdain's own personality (for example, his publicly avowed dislike of Billy Joel), 'The Bobby Gold Stories' is a very solid work of fiction that doesn't require too much thought. I could be making a silly metaphorical observation here, however it seems to me that this novella is like a very good steak frites. Simple, familiar, prepared well and served with the appropriate lack of any distractions, giving its recipient exactly what they want.
May 22, 2008
I am addicted to Anthony Bourdain No Reservations on the Travel Channel. I am particularly attracted to Bourdain’s narration of the program. He is insightful, humorous, and eloquent.
Last night, I caught a rerun of Bourdain’s visit to London. During the program, he refers to one of his novels. Hmm, a novel? I headed to the library today and picked up Bourdain’s The Bobby Gold Stories: A Novel.
Bobby Gold is a good-hearted thug who falls for a cook, Nikki, who dreams of life on the lam. Nikki has no attractive qualities—apart from a nice body—and I had difficulty imagining why Bobby would willingly give up everything for her.
I had hoped for an intelligent novel similar to No Reservations. I wanted to experience more of Bourdain’s witticisms and cultural insights. Instead, I found a by-the-book gangster novel oozing with crude scenes and foul language. The profanity wouldn’t have been an issue if it were used to enhance a smart novel. Instead, the book feels gratuitous for the sake of being gratuitous. In fact, I am almost embarrassed to admit I even read it.
The only time I enjoyed the novel was when I imagined the narrative in Bourdain’s voice. Suddenly, the words sounded more intelligent, almost elegant. Perhaps I am simply mesmerized by the sound of his voice. However, I did not have the mental fortitude to read the entire book in this manner, so ultimately I was thoroughly disappointed by the novel.
Last night, I caught a rerun of Bourdain’s visit to London. During the program, he refers to one of his novels. Hmm, a novel? I headed to the library today and picked up Bourdain’s The Bobby Gold Stories: A Novel.
Bobby Gold is a good-hearted thug who falls for a cook, Nikki, who dreams of life on the lam. Nikki has no attractive qualities—apart from a nice body—and I had difficulty imagining why Bobby would willingly give up everything for her.
I had hoped for an intelligent novel similar to No Reservations. I wanted to experience more of Bourdain’s witticisms and cultural insights. Instead, I found a by-the-book gangster novel oozing with crude scenes and foul language. The profanity wouldn’t have been an issue if it were used to enhance a smart novel. Instead, the book feels gratuitous for the sake of being gratuitous. In fact, I am almost embarrassed to admit I even read it.
The only time I enjoyed the novel was when I imagined the narrative in Bourdain’s voice. Suddenly, the words sounded more intelligent, almost elegant. Perhaps I am simply mesmerized by the sound of his voice. However, I did not have the mental fortitude to read the entire book in this manner, so ultimately I was thoroughly disappointed by the novel.
March 4, 2008
I'm a big fan of Bourdain's non-fiction writing about his career as a chef (Kitchen Confidential), so when I read fantastic reviews about this fiction crime novel, I was eager to check it out. Luckily, it's really short. The book features Bobby Gold, just released from 10 years in prison for a drug charge. He finds a job working as some kind of bouncer/enforcer for a ne'er do well, and becomes infactuated with Nikki, a chef as one of his frequented haunts. This book is long on bone-crushing encounters, foul language, and sex - but very short on plot. Admist all his celebrity chef appearances, I'm impressed that Bourdain has time to write anything, but in the future, I hope he sticks to the non-fiction essays that made him so well loved.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 217 reviews