Got a Bone in Your Throat?

Bone in the Throat –by Anthony Bourdain

Mystery

372 KB / 304 pages

Footnotes/Endnotes: No

Illustrations: No

Suitable for eReaders: Yes

4 Stars

Murder mysteries are not my usual genre when I reach for fiction; however, I'd just finished reading Kitchen Confidential (see below) and enjoyed it, so added Bone in the Throat to my Kindle. While it's not the story I would have given to my Sunday School Teacher as a child, it is a story I'd have shared with my Drill Instructor.

This is his first novel and I think he did a pretty good job. It's set in a mobbed up restaurant in New York City. The language is a tad rough for the genteel set, but perfect for the story. I gave it 4 stars more for the publisher than the author. When it was translated from paper to electrons, a lot of formatting was lost, quotation marks dropped, the symbol for the British Pound found it's way into the story as a double, lower case 'l', nothing serious, but enough times (once is too much) to be irritating and cost points – for the publisher, not the author!*

If you are a lover of metaphor, don't bother with this one. Bourdain tells the story straight out, with no creative flowery stuff. When he talks about the sex, it's straight out about the sex. When he talks about the murder it's well described in a few words, not drug out for paragraphs and pages. If the 'F' word offends thee, don't read this. But, do get a life.

Tommy is the sous-chef at the Dreadnought Restaurant. His dad disappeared when he was a kid (assumed mob hit) and his uncle, a wannabee Wise Guy, takes him under his wing and helps his sister, Tommy's mother, raise him. Tommy wants nothing to do with the mob or his uncle, he wants to be a chef, and avoids his uncle as much as possible. But Uncle Sal is, after all, family. And then Uncle Sal needs Tommy to do a favor for him, payback for the help, a simple favor that won't get him in trouble or cause him grief. Yeah. Right.

Tommy and his drugged out boss, the Chef, are now caught in the midst of an FBI operation, drug rehab and threats, Mob mentality, and, well, for a fun read, pick up the book. As stated above, this book does not fall into my usual fiction genre, and until I finished the last chapter, I wasn't sure I'd pick up another Bourdain novel, but I will.

Oh, and if you don't recognize at least one of the Mob Guys, you need to read or watch more news!

*OK, maybe I should change to a 5 star. I received a Kindle Fire, and the formatting is perfect! Why it is good on the Fire and not my older Kindle, I don't know.

Do Ya Wanna be a Chef? Huh? Do Ya?

Kitchen Confidential – by Anthony Bourdain

Memoir

464 KB/321 Pages

Footnotes/Endnotes: No

Illustrations: No

Suitable for eReaders: Yes

5 Stars

Okay, I admit, I like Anthony Bourdain. I travel the world and enjoy foods vicariously through his TV show, No Reservations that I will never get to see or enjoy any other way. I also admit, right up front, if you think the language of the show is rough, the language in this book is full bore with No Bleeps!

Last year, I read Beaten, Seared, and Sauced, a memoir by Jonathan Dixon on his journey to become a Chef and graduate from the CIA. It was fun.

This year, Kitchen Confidential seemed a natural follow on. Both Bourdain and Dixon attended and graduated from the same CIA campus. Both are male. Both write well. End of comparison.

Bourdain is a Bad Boy from the get-go. I have a soft spot for Bad Boys, at least some. At least those who are at a safe distance;-) This memoir is filled with raunch, booze, drugs, and escapades that had me laughing out loud almost through the whole thing. I started it as a bedtime read, and spent most of today on the sofa finishing it. I don't mind the language if it's in a funny setting. And it is, well, Bourdain.

He tells us when to order fish, and when not to, and why. He explains what really goes on behind the scenes in the kitchen. His crew a missed match bunch of bawdy pirates, who come and go with the tides. And just about the time when you wonder, really wonder, he takes us into a 3-star restaurant, and shows us how a kitchen can be run—with respect, quiet, totally the opposite of New York's Les Halles where he is the Executive Chef (at least at the time of the writing of the book). He points out the differences, and explains why he will never be a 3-star Chef.

Do you think you might like to be a Chef? Do your friends tell you you should open your own restaurant, serve your special foods and drinks for money? Do you harbor that dream of having your own show on Food Network, of becoming the next Iron Chef? Read this book, and think about it, very, very seriously. Then, if you still want to open your own place, go forth and do so. But remember what Anthony Bourdain writes. Remember his descriptions of his hands. Can you stand for 10-17 hours a day, seven days a week? Pay attention. And don't say you weren't warned!