Bone in the Throat audiobook

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

One thing I learned from the restaurant business is, I never wanna be in the restaurant business. You'd do better to go out to the Fooking track and put your money on a horse. No Shit. The percentages are better. You might come out of it with some money.

Another mob story with graphic killings and a side of cooking. Likable characters. Bumbling cops. Good food.

F****in' FunThis is a fun, albeit violent and raunchy, fast-paced romp of a story. I'm glad I read Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential first because I had already looked up most of the restaurant jargon that fills this book. The only caveat is that easily 1/3 of the word count consists of "f***in' this, f***in' that." I suppose the author was going for authenticity, but I could have done with fewer expletives.

I knew going into this book that Tony Bourdain was a pretty good writer, having already digested Kitchen Confidential and Nasty Bits.The most amazing thing about this book was the level with which I found myself really caring about the characters. In particular, the chef Michael and his sous chef Tommy. Watching Michael wrestle with his heroin addiction and his desire to turn his life around was very moving. I am sure this was partly biographical, as Bourdain himself suffered from the same issues earlier in his life.Tommy had his own problems, centering around his uncle Sally a two-bit mobster who was shaking down Tommy's restaurant. Questions of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, being used and manipulated, of being the fall guy in a situation your never wanted to be in...you sense he's in a tough place and you are really rooting for him to pull out.Also impressive was Bourdain's command of lingo and speech. To go a step further, his understanding of timing and rhythm is exceptional.There is a scene wherein Tommy, in a moment of weakness, has sex with a waitress while his girlfriend is out of town. She returns and they have a fight about it. She punches Tommy in the face. He tells her to calm down and not to be upset. Her response? "I'm not upset, I'm mad."That's a subtle thing, but very true. There are a lot of subtle yet true things in this story. In the restaurant, there is a conversation regarding the poor tips given by Canadians. I was instantly reminded of a joke told to me many years ago by the manager of the restaurant I was a waiter at: "What's the difference between Canadians and canoes? ... One tips and the other don't."That's real life and that's what makes Bourdain's storytelling such an enthralling experience.

So here's the thing. I was gonna just slap it in my finished list and give it some stars until I realised that I wasn't sure HOW many stars to give it. And that started a whole barrage of questions, so I think I'll just talk out loud here. Of course I liked the book. It has all the things I love: murder, swearing, the mob, everyday people just being people, people who smoke, people who casually drink, people who casually do drugs, food porn, real porn, and unflinchingly real descriptions of mundane life. Bourdain, at one point mentions that a woman in the shower hums the final Jeopardy theme to time her conditioner. I like that kind of random shit. And I liked the ending. The last line has a swear word in it. I like that stuff. On the other hand, a lot of the things I like are kind of indulgent. A session of the main character prepping the kitchen for service starts on page 35 and goes until page 39. Paragraph after paragraph of "then he added cumin, and chanterelled the mushrooms, and peeled some garlic." I can see how some people would think that was excessive and indulgent. I can see how structurally it's almost too much for the books. There's a whole scene about a secondary character almost getting busted whilst scoring H that doesn't really have a place in the book. BUT I loved it. So what do I do? I give it four stars for everything I love. I give it two stars as an objective reader. Three means it was "meh". But it wasn't meh to me, right? It was fricking awesome. Two characters briefly discuss whether or not it's classy to run over a body of a person you just shot with your stolen car (Misplaced modifier is misplaced, i know.). "It gets forensics on the wheels." LOL. Later two characters talk about the guilty pleasure foods they love (Al's wife makes him red jello with fruit cocktail in it and he LOVES it.). I love that stuff, the sidebar kibitzing. So yeah, Bourdain, I see what you did that. You awesome guy, you.

"Bone in the Throat" was wildly entertaining. A mafia, gangster crime first novel by celebrity chef, Anthony Bourdain.Lots of murder, beatings, cooking and description of food scattered throughout.The main character, Tommy, is the sous-chef at The Dreadnaught, a restaurant run by a a criminal, Harvey being used by the FBI to trap some local gangsters. Tommy's uncle, Sally, is the local gangster who collects money from Harvey and who got Tommy the job there. However, Tommy really does have passion and skill in the kitchen, so even though his connection got him the job, he's not a lazy, waster but takes it seriously and wants to cook for a living rather than join the gangster life, like his father, uncle and almost all his childhood friends have done.Tommy's buddies with he Chef and they get along, sharing cocaine and covering for each other in the kitchen. The Chef is a heroin junky who desperately wants to get off it and gets caught up in the cops who forget their photo album during a stake-out and mistake him for Tommy.Sally is a comic fellow, a loud, obnoxious, none-too-bright gangster who wanders around in sweatsuits and gold chains, whose sense of culture is stuck in the 70's. He's the one who makes the big mistakes, too much talking where he's overheard.The scariest character is Skinny. He's the gangster who doesn't talk much, does a lot of the dirty work as clean, simple and professionally as possible, even stripping off his clothes to avoid getting blood on them that could be used as evidence.The gangsters all talk like we expect, with crazy New York sounds and lots and lots of foul language, like "get inna fuckin' car" or "I wrap it inna foil an' I put it inna oven."Bourdain's handling of the Chef is a bit clumsy, continually referring to him as "the Chef" even after any mystery is over and everyone, including the cops, knows his real name. When he meets his mother for lunch, she's "the Chef's mother".Overall, an entertaining book.

I normally would never think of picking up a novel written by a tv show host, but I have a lot of respect for Anthony Bourdain and enjoy his non-fiction pieces, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. I'm glad I did. It's rare enough to find a multi-talented artist, but that's exactly what Bourdain is proving himself to be. Add fiction writing to his growing repertoire of skills."Bone in the Throat" is a divertingly fun romp through Tony's New York--dark, gritty, often desperate, but with a distinctive hint of macabre humor that fans of "No Reservations" or "A Cook's Tour" will easily recognize. Bourdain pulls no punches here, giving us the good and the bad with equal honesty. His detailed descriptions of artfully prepared meals and the simple joy of cooking are interspersed with the harsh truth of a junkie's struggle to get clean, and both strike the reader as likewise realistic, a testament to Bourdain's own experiences as well as his talent at bringing both words and food to life.The largest problem with this book is the lack of careful editing, an issue that's cropped up in a number of Kindle editions. Simple grammatical and spelling errors distract a reader at the worst possible moments. Don't let this alone stop you, though. Bourdain's writing is plenty strong to relegate the editing issues to nothing more that a nuisance.Fans of "Kitchen Confidential," as well as Bourdain's Travel Channel shows will thoroughly enjoy this book, and readers of Carl Hiassen and Elmore Leonard ought to check it out as well.

This was a lot of fun, especially since I've lived in Little Italy, on Elizabeth Street for over thirty-five years and I worked in kitchens for nearly ten. I could picture every location and the characters were familiar from around the neighborhood. But the real pleasure was seeing how well Bourdain did on his first time out as a novelist--a full five years before his wonderful Kitchen Confidential. He's one of my favorite food writers--even though you have to put up with his fondness for trash talk and put downs of anyone who doesn't share his exact taste in--well, just about everything. But he's witty, and an exact and scrupulous observer--there is never anything unbelievable in his writing. He's a real New York smart ass in the classic mold. Hard not to like that.