Book Review: The Bobby Gold Stories

Anthony Bourdain is a pretty famous chef. His show on Travel Channel, No Reservations is popular, he has two memoirs, Medium Raw and Kitchen Confidential. And he has also written several pieces of fiction.

I just picked up his 2002 novel, The Bobby Gold Stories before work Monday, and it was fantastic. It includes all the things that make Bourdain great. Gritty detail but not overdrawn. A story that reads very quickly and includes, drugs, mafioso, and of course, restaurant employees; Bobby Gold Stories is fucking dynamite.

Bobby Gold is an unfortunate, lovable character who the reader follows on an intentionally whirlwind trip through his life. From prison to the New York restaurant/club scene to wannabe made-men, the story has it all. Bourdain's descriptions are concise and clean, like a well-prepared cut of meat. And the product that the reader gets its delicious and precise. If you need a quick summer read and enjoy sex, drugs, and New York City I suggest you pick it up.