Bone In The Throat

Anthony Bourdain nailed the atmosphere with spot on details! I lived on Sullivan Street in the 1980s and knew the real life mobsters and wanna-bees he cleverly transformed into characters for his food-infused mystery. The details of the red sauce Italian/tourist restaurants and the SoHo chic were particularly great. I'm recommending this to friends who love mysteries AND food.

"Bone In The Throat" is one of those books that sinks its teeth into your flesh and doesn't let go! The book is really refreshing, its gritty, witty, violent and has 2/3 dark humour, you have to wonder at times how much is really fiction and/or perhaps a little bit of insight into the mob and the real "food biz"; the characters are straight foward but the build up of his characters is great (you can't help feel for them) and Bourdain tells a mean tale of trust (or the lack of)and a whole lot of murder. The joy comes when things start falling apart and everyone starts turning on each other. I found this book a really fast page turner and was always eager to keep reading. This is the first book I have read of Anthony Bourdain's and it certainly won't be the last. Loved it!

Anthony Bourdain has struck gold with his venture into fiction writing. Bone in the Throat is a wonderfully delightful romp through the world of mobsters and food service, which Bourdain has done a masterful job of intertwining. Not being personally inclined to read much fiction, I read this based on the quality of Bourdain's non-fiction works, and was very pleased. I'm looking forward to reading his other fiction work, Gone Bamboo, and am anxiously hoping that he writes some more, be it fiction or non-fiction. This guy has got real talent!

Really like Anthony Bourdain - TV and books like Kitchen Confidential. Wasn't expecting much from this, but it was quite the enjoyable read. I could see everything as it went down, and wow...some of it was quite graphic. If you can get past that, it was a good story - great character development, good writing.

I'm pleased that my favorite chef-turned-TV-star is now writing books. Is there anything he can't do?

It's clear that what Bourdain writes about best are: 1) descriptions of cooking (note the descriptions of making fish soup and the debate about beurre blanc); 2) methadone programs; and 3) the use of the "f" word as every part of speech.
The plot in this book is weak which is tolerable if the rest of the features of the book make up for it. But they don't. The disappointment is that the book ends as if Bourdain just decided to stop writing as opposed to any coming together of events.
Parts of the book are very funny, but Bourdain's writing is terribly uneven. At times he'll provide terrific descriptions of something, and other times he gives a sparse view.
Read it at the beach or on a long trip. Borrow someone else's copy.

Maybe I was expecting to much. I don't know a lot about the mob first hand but the ending in this seemed just almost too easy considering the struggle that had taken place. Lot of drug use and foul language which isn't shocking considering the cast. It is a very straight forward story that is easy to follow but when you're reading it you find yourself going back to find out who the character is that has just been reintroduced. The police and some of the lesser seen mob members seem to become easily forgotten to the point that it is a little confusing. It seemed to focus on gourmet food as much as anything else.

The best parts of the book are the semi-autobiographical elements which are probably lifted from the author's career as a chef. The convuluted plot includes dealings with the mafia, and ends pretty unsatisfactorily.
Where the author excels is entertaining the reader with tales about the sex, drugs, and criminal behavior, and he's only talking about the restaurant staff. He let's us in on the secrets behind how food is delivered to your table at dinner time.
For a better look behind the restaurant business, I recommend reading his non-fiction works Kitchen Confidential and A Cook's Tour.

Ok, I'll can the bad cooking humor. This is a fun, fast read -- good situations, great ear for language, nicely spiced (sorry) with sex and violence -- and available in paperback. And, as a bonus, if you read this after "Kitchen Confidential" (as I did) you can have fun picking out what bits were based on Bourdain's own sordid adventures. What are you waiting for?

Enjoyed the punk rock references and the kitchen scenes. I worked in a restaurant myself at one point, and could picture my own staff getting caught up in this type of mess.

Any fan of Anthony Bourdain and his television show "No Reservations" will likely be entertained by this one. It reads very similar to his spoken dialogue on the show with sprinkled bits and pieces of cynicism.

I was mesmerized by this book. So fast paced. So Bourdain. I love his prose on No Reservatioons and wondered if that was ghost written. This work of fiction is pure Tony prose--hopefully his own words. Such a good read. I hope he writes more fiction. I could not put it down. And I don't say that often.

Good read with lots of action. Lots of adult language which I wasn't crazy about, but I guess that it was necessary for the store. I would give it four stars s be cause it moved along and it did not get. Boring.

This is a great fast read. I thought the plot and story was very interesting and easy to follow. Bourdain does a great job of describing the characters and really makes you care about them and what happens to them. If you get this and like it deffinately get the next book, Gone Bamboo!

Bourdain's first fiction book is right on. I liked the plot flow and the characters are all pretty believable. Nicely paced and not too far fetched. Looking forward to reading "Going Bamboo" next. I also enjoy his show on the food network. I think that Bourdain will have a long career in the literary field. Some other reviews didn't like the ending of this book but I found it fine.

I enjoyed Kitchen Confidential a lot more for its witty writing and colourful insights into the restaurant business. This fiction novel however, disappoints as the pace is slow, the action limited and the characters predictable. It is nevertheless unpretentious and an easy read.

I enjoyed Kitchen Confidential a lot more for its witty writing and colourful insights into the restaurant business. This fiction novel however, disappoints as the pace is slow, the action limited and the characters predictable. It is nevertheless unpretentious and an easy read.

It's pretty much Kitchen Confidential with a mob plot thrown in. His knowledge of resturaunt operations come through very clear and told with a lot of detail. Don't expect this one to win any literary awards but if you have a little time to kill this is a good read.

For a first time novelist, "Bone in the Throat" is a grand slam. Tony covers all the bases then knocks it home with a sharp sense of humor in an otherwise depressingly sad story. I like this one better than his later novel, "Gone Bamboo" but they are both great reads.

Bone In the Throat is a great read -- atmospheric and full of quirky characters. Plenty of inside stuff about the New York restaurant scene, which Bourdain obviously knows like the master chef he is. Couldn't put it down, so read it straight through, and was very sorry to finish. Looking forward to more fiction by Bourdain.

Bourdain is an irresistible presence on TV, no doubt. But he is no storyteller when working in prose. This story was thinner than consommé and about as mentally nutritious. Enjoy the tv show with all it's exotic locales and characters because the author brings none of the titillation to this effort.

I have read you kitchen confidential, a cook's tour, and gone bamboo. Let me tell you, the first two were excellent. This one and gone bamboo were so simply written. You can tell he is definatly not an author per say, but he is so much fun you can't put it down. His writing needs some help. But who cares!! I love him. Please marry me.

True, this would have been a fun, fast read. It would have been even faster, say, 50 pages shorter, if he just took out one word. I'm afraid that one word spoiled it for me. On occasion is one thing, three times in every sentence is another. I prefer well written English, not trash talk. Sorry.