Bone In The Throat

by Anthony Bourdain

🎧Listening Length = 8 hours and 51 minutes

A wildly funny, irreverent tale of murder, mayhem, and the mob.
When up-and-coming chef Tommy Pagana settles for a less than glamorous stint at his uncle's restaurant in Manhattan's Little Italy, he unwittingly finds himself a partner in big-time crime. And when the mob decides to use the kitchen for a murder, nothing Tommy learned in cooking school has prepared him for what happens next. With the FBI on one side and his eccentric wise guy superiors on the other, Tommy has to struggle to do right by his conscience and avoid getting killed in the meantime....

Stuffed with charming characters and peppered with Bourdain's wry humor, Bone in the Throat is one satisfying feast of a novel.

©2008 Anthony Bourdain ℗2016 HarperCollins Publishers

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Food, Crime, Thriller, Cooking, Audiobook

352 pages, Paperback

First published June 6, 1995

About the author

Anthony 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.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anthony Bourdain writes crime novels the same way he narrates food & travel documentaries: he's blunt-spoken, with intermittent bursts of humor and insight that are just... genius.

So, this is a fun read.

But I can only give it three stars because literally every single character - from the mob boss, to the junkie chef, to his French-sophisticate mother - speaks in EXACTLY THE SAME VOICE as Anthony Bourdain.

I kept wanting to whisper: "Pssst... act! You gotta act like someone else if you want me to believe this character isn't just YOU in a dress or velour tracksuit."

[Nomad · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of people don't know this, but Anthony Bourdain used to write fiction, most people are aware of him for his tv shows: A Cooks Tour, No Reservations and Layover along with his food writing and his 1 cookbook. However, before all of this, back when he was still the chef at Les Halles in New York City, he wrote 3 books of fiction. Sadly they did not sell well and only due to his later fame were they rediscovered. That's really too bad, because they're great.

This shouldn't come as a surprise, but his fiction usually revolves in some way around the food industry, specifically cooks and restaurants. Also, organized crime is a large theme as well, again, not a shocker for anyone familiar with Bourdain and his work. He's always been public about his fascination with that particular world.

Bone in the Throat revolves around Tommy Pagana and his girlfriend. Tommy is an aspiring chef whose family has lots of mafia connections. Through these connections Tommy gets a job at a restaurant, he's just trying to learn how to be a chef, but the mafia and their demands keep getting in his way. How he and his girlfriend navigate this is the plot of the book.

And this is a GREAT book folks. I'm a fan of Bourdain and he's one of the few authors who's never once disappointed me. Now that I've said this, it will probably happen. I recommend Bone in the Throat highly, you won't be sorry you picked it up.

[Cynnamon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mafia story with foodie/restaurant elements.
I did not care much for the mafia story, but I really liked the descriptions of the work in the kitchen.
-----------------------------------

Ein Mafia-Krimi im Restaurant-/Küchenchef-Milieu.
Die Küchenchef-Anteile haben mir sehr gut gefallen, den Krimi-Part fand ich weniger toll. Das Ende war allerdings wirklich überraschend, wenn auch für meinen Geschmack ziemlich unbefriedigend.

[Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the one hand, this novel reads like a caricature of The Godfather, like the fantasy of someone who has watched one too many Martin Scorsese movies. On the other hand, it is full of action, ribald dialogue, and asides about food that only a master chef could deliver. Not great literature--in that regard Bourdain is to Mario Puzo what Krispy Kreme is to fine French pastry, but you gotta admit, sometimes you'd really rather have a damned doughnut.

[Koeeoaddi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went into this with no expectations, but it turned out to be great fun. Snarky, funny and entertaining, just like his food books. But with murder most foul.

RIP, Mr. Bourdain.

[Mursalin Mosaddeque · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a light read. And a great one.
I was watching the Sopranos and wanted to read a light novel involving the wise guys. I had seen Tony's tv shows and read his fantastic book, Kitchen Confidential. So, this book was exactly what I had hoped it would be.

[Mandy Tanksley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of Anthony Bourdain. Having watched him compose beautiful stories through food and culture on his television shows, I knew he wouldn't disappoint me as a writer of fiction. His book "Bone in the Throat" was not as elegant and interesting as I had assumed it would be, but knowing Bourdain's taste for foul language and getting at the heart of a story helped me sink my teeth into this book. The story involves a group of mafia-types, police, and restaurant junkies who are playing a game of merry-go-round to see which side wins. I found myself not caring too much for any of the characters, but I think that's the point. You're not supposed to fall in love with these people. They're realistic in that they have good and bad qualities. They're flawed. I ended up rooting for a couple of characters who got mixed up in all that was going on and hoping they'd come out on top. They didn't come out unscathed in an ending that wasn't quite what I expected. I own more of Mr. Bourdain's books that I look forward to reading in the near future.

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, this novel had too many characters. The main one(s) were not really developed effectively. I struggled to root for anyone. I knew that I was mean to root for the chef and the sous chef, but I just couldn't.

However, there is an excellent moment with a meat slicer that I found fun!

To be fair, this isn't my usual fare; I may be ill-equipped to judge.

[Jessica Keeler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love Anthony Bourdain and love mysteries but this one just didn't do it for me. Inundated with mundane details, imo. In the beginning I thought it was interesting because we get detailed description of one of the chefs cooking but then it turned out to be that much detail for a lot of things, many of which are not actually related to the storyline. This book is for you if you want to read The Sopranos meets The Bear.

[Eh?Eh! · Rating 2 out of 5]

as advertised, a good beach towel skimmer

[Gracie Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an entertaining read - especially if you like Anthony Bourdain & The Sopranos. The characters are almost all pretty horrible people but I just kept wanting to read more. I saw a review on here that mentioned how all the characters are written in Bourdain’s voice and honestly that’s a spot on observation. This is no great literary masterpiece but it wasn’t bad.

[Cameron Macioce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting read, you can tell it was written by a chef. Slightly slow start but keeps you intrigued. Gives a detailed look at life as a sous chef, especially one wrapped up with the mob. Would recommend.

[Kendall]

I can't believe that Anthony stole my The Bear / Sopranos crossover fanfic.

[Joel Gomes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Muito se tem falado do Anthony Bourdain nos últimos tempos, principalmente com a sua recente vinda ao nosso país. Embora não o tenha descoberto agora, não posso dizer que seja um seguidor. Isto é, vejo o "No Reservations" sempre que me lembro e gosto do que vejo. O problema é que nem sempre me lembro. No entanto, apesar de já conhecer o Anthony Bourdain há algum tempo, este livro obriga-me a ficar ao lado daqueles que só agora aprenderam que ele existe. Sou sincero: sabia que ele era um chef de cozinha; não fazia ideia que era um chef da escrita.

"Bone in the throat", ou "Osso na garganta",como se chamará, mais dia menos dia, a edição portuguesa (não é um palpite, é uma esperança de publicação), é um livro com óptimos ingredientes: bons personagens, excelentes diálogos, bastante acção, humor, morte, culinária e máfia.

A história gira em torno de Tommy Pagano, um cozinheiro, cujo tio Sally pertence à Máfia. Tommy não quer ter nada a ver com esses negócios, mas quando aceita fazer-lhe um favor, vê-se no meio duma investigação da polícia e do FBI ao seu tio Sally e restantes amigos mafiosos.

Julgo, no entanto, que a melhor frase que define este livro (e que foi a frase que me chamou primeiro à atenção; ainda antes de ler o enredo), publicada pela revista MAXIM, é "Goodfellas meets Masterchef". E é isto. Pensem no Goodfellas, aquele bom filme com o Joe Pesci, o Roberto DeNiro, o Ray Liotta e tantos outros, juntem-no com o Masterchef e ficam com 350 páginas muito, muito divertidas.

Dica para quem quiser adquirir um exemplar deste livro. Além das habituais lojas online, pode ir à Bertrand do Chiado. Está lá 5,50€. Perdoem-me a alusão gratuita a essa livraria (não sou funcionário, nem accionista, apenas cliente esporádico), mas é por uma boa causa.

[Tyler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Libris interruptus...I was traveling on my motorcycle to see a film at the Zurich Film Festival with this book in my jacket pocket, but when I arrived at the venue, the book was gone. I was about two-thirds of the way through the book at the time of its disappearance. I guess it is a testament to how little I was engaged with the story that I did not make a search for the book after it went missing.

The story was okay. The characters were okay. The writing was okay. Therefore my rating on the first two-thirds of the book is "it was okay." Unfortunately, I was looking forward to finishing the story, since there are supposed to be some plot twists near the end. However, I'll sleep fine not knowing what they are.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even before he was big-time, Mr. Tony had a real clarity of voice and tone that help this novel cohesive and kept me reading. He does a nice job of rotating chapters through the eyes of many characters without getting bogged down by the variety; each chapter also advances the admittedly thin plot. I would've enjoyed more mystery and less novel, the ending was a foregone conclusion, though he did build some nice suspense especially during the face-in-the-meat-slicer scene, which was particularly toe-curling!

The wealth of great details and pacing of the action kept it entertaining and enjoyable. A nice light read on a lazy weekend. And Tony looks so young and cute on the back cover. . . .

[Bob Schnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1995, just as he was starting to get attention, Anthony Bourdain wrote this paean to NY mob fiction with a culinary twist. "Bone in the Throat" doesn't cover any new ground in the story line, but the detailed restaurant/kitchen background makes it seem fresh. And you can't help hearing Bourdain's distinctive voice narrating. Plenty of New York landmarks (some no longer in existence) get a nod and anyone who was gallivanting around the West Village in the 1990's will be sure to get a bit nostalgic. There's even a character based on Al "Grandpa" Lewis whose restaurant was a bit of a tourist attraction back in the day. All in all, it is an enjoyable read and I'll probably check out some of his other fiction as a result.

[Seraphina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clearly written as a tribute from someone who loved mafia and gangster films ‘Bone In The Throat’ has all the ingredients you would need for a thrilling story about a crime syndicate. A drug addled chef, relentless feds and a guy who doesn’t want no part of the family business. A good and easy read.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Touted as a snarky mystery, this really is just fiction, almost more of a character study. This is one book I had to make myself finish. I had a hard time keeping track of the characters ("who is this guy again?") until late in the book because few were fleshed out enough to stick with me.

[Erica · Rating 2 out of 5]

An okay read, definitely not as good as his nonfiction

[Randell Carlton Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed it, but Bourdain is better on tv than in the fiction section. 📚

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good mob story, with a Bourdain twist. It did drag in places, and struggled with its own weight in the middle, but for his first published work it was very dang good. I'd recommend it.

[Drubeus Swagrid · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a fan of both Bourdain's television persona and his non-fiction work, I went into this with high hopes. I'm happy to say that I was not disappointed. I haven't read much crime fiction in the past, mainly due to lack of interest. This book, however, had me hooked from the prologue. Bourdain had a true talent for painting a picture with his words. This could very easily be translated into a script for film or television. The characters have heart and feel real. The story is full of twists and turns. I could almost swear that The Sopranos lifted more than a few ideas from these pages. When I reached the last few chapters, there was no way I could put the book down. The character of the chef was clearly based on Bourdain himself, but managed to avoid stealing the limelight from the other characters. Tommy felt like the kind of guy so many of us grew up with. Even if you didn't, you might still find yourself wanting to grab a drink with him sometime and catch up on old times you never had. We've probably all had a boss like Harvey at some point, as well. For those of us lucky enough not to have an Uncle Sally of our own, we probably know somebody that does have family like him. Bourdain's love for his original profession shined through in the scenes involving food. I was practically drooling anytime somebody was cooking. I highly recommend this book not only to fans of Bourdain, but to anyone interested in a true page turner, and especially to fans of crime fiction or mafia stories.

[Jeff Mauch · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I was/am a huge fan of Bourdain the travel writer and television host, I expected this delving into fiction to be average at best. While the story itself was pretty good, the dialogue between characters was rough. The characters were stereotypical especially the cops and mobsters to the point of being caricatures with everything being embellished to the nth degree. It's clear the main chef character is largely based on Bourdain, drug problem and all. Overall there is a solid plot here with a coherent story line and pacing that keeps you interested throughout. What's not to love really, mobsters overly involved in the restaurant business in New York while police are running surveillance on them, all with a couple chefs find themselves in the midst of it all. Given some practice, I think Bourdain could have developed into a fairly good fiction writer, but I guess we'll never know now.

[Jeannie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bourdain is excellent at description and has the soul of poet, which is why his nonfiction books are so delightful. That said, the best parts of this fiction piece are in the kitchen, the mafia plot was just too convulted to hook me and it seem like all of the characters were mainly a derivative of Chef-- particularly the female characters to me didn't feel authentic, they talked like a crass hard working Chef. As a woman who paid her dues in back of house it still felt like a totally male perspective and knowing how much Bourdain did emulate women, I would have liked him to have used a female pair of eyes to give him notes. Of course, he may just have told me to go f** myself or appreciated my terseness. I still will give his other fictions a go, I do love his writing style.

[Kiwi Carlisle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This seems to have been Bourdain’s first book, a hard-boiled gangster/restaurant novel set in Little Italy. There are hints there of the terrific writer he eventually became—black humor, ridiculous situations, and some convincing characters. However, it becomes clear to readers of Bourdain’s later work that the best characters and situations are largely straight out of his autobiography. Descriptions of food and food prep are lovingly done, and some of the horrors of the failing restaurant in which the protagonist works are familiar to readers of Bourdain’s rants in Kitchen Confidential and other books. It’s on the violent and gory side. If you can take that, and are genuinely interested in Bourdain’s development as a writer, you’ll enjoy this book.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shouldn't be surprised that Anthony Bourdain's crime fiction is basically like if an Elmore Leonard novel was set in the New York restaurant world instead of the Detroit underbelly. That's not an insult. This was really entertaining. Good dialogue. It's a little "big" and I wouldn't call the crime part of it "realistic," however -- the characters are all basically caricatures of guys in mob movies/The Sopranos. But it's fun, and worth it for the Bourdaininess of it all.

[Bobby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Should you read this, try to forget that it's written by Anthony Bourdain, star of countless TV shows and overall badass dude who everyone loved.

Try to remember that this book was written almost 30 years ago by Anthony Bourdain, first time novelist and still full-time chef. Like many first timers, he's still finding his voice here. You won't be getting the guy who wrote Kitchen Confidential, or who narrated all those great travel shows. You're getting a guy heavily inspired by Elmore Leonard--not a bad thing in my book.

There's a lot to like here. Dirtbag characters in the restaurant world. Scummy, if not cartoony mobsters. Goofball FBI guys.

Much of this would likely be cut by a better, more experienced novelist, as Bourdain would prove himself to be in his follow-up novel, Gone Bamboo, a few years later.

One particular section really sticks out: an extended sequence where a character (the clear author stand in) goes on a drug score that turns out to be almost more than he could handle.

[Patti Shaughnessy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently discovered the crime novels written by Anthony Bourdain. This was a really good one. Who knew he was such a good fiction writer! This one has a lot of details in the restaurant world which I enjoyed. It was an interesting story filled with crime, gangsters, drugs and food. I look forward to reading Bourdain's other fiction books.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Y’all know I love Tony with my whole heart, and his voice is SO strong in this book (the details in the kitchen scenes are wonderful, so vibrant and descriptive) but the book is….eh. All the characters talk the same and it was difficult at times to remember who is who, and who is speaking. It wasn't a terrible read, but I will not be picking this one up again.